When buying a home, your agent will
have you sign what may seem like a hundred pages of documents, all saying
roughly the same thing: get a home inspection. It seems like a no-brainer to
find out if the house you want has any serious problems before you make the
biggest financial purchase of your life, but many home buyers don’t
give a home inspection the sort of attention it deserves.
It makes sense; you’ve
searched for months and finally found the one. You have an accepted an offer
and a close date on the distant horizon and your agent wants you to spend a
good chunk of money to hire an inspector to find things wrong with your dream
home. The seller swears it’s fine! Get a home inspection, it can
help you in more ways than you realize.
How to choose a home inspector:
Start by asking your realtor for the name of a reputable home inspector. Then
ask your friends who have made recent home purchase who they used and check
online reviews--remember, the inspector you hire is working for you, not the
seller and not your agent. It’s important that the inspector
communicates directly to you, the home buyer, and not through your agent. Your
agent may schedule the inspection, but otherwise, you are the boss and the
inspector is your hire.
Next, ask a potential inspector
their qualifications. Are they licensed and bonded? Ask to see a sample report. Is it clear and
thorough? Did the inspector take pictures of their findings? Ask the inspector
what they do and don’t cover in their report. In general,
home inspectors will inspect a house from top to bottom, including crawling
underneath the home and going up on the roof. They will not move furniture if
it is in the way or break down anything to get a better look. Make sure you can
be present during the inspection. Inspections can take hours, but it’s
important for you to be there for at least a walk-through with the inspector.
This is not the time to bring your extended family to see your future home or
to measure for furniture--give the inspector your full attention. Ask questions! The inspector should not offer to repair any defect found during the
inspection, but may make recommendations for further inspections by more
specifically qualified tradespeople, like plumbers, roofers, or electricians.
Your agent can only pass on the inspector’s report to you; they can’t
interpret findings.
What happens if the inspector misses
something? In a word, nothing. Unless the inspector is deliberately concealing
material defects and it can be proven, the inspector is not liable for missed
problems. However, inspectors get most of their business through
recommendations by realtors and a poorly done inspection makes the agent look
bad too. If an inspector is not living up to an agent’s
high standards, they will not continue to recommend that inspector. Inspectors
do not offer incentives to realtors for referrals. An inspector relies on good
word of mouth. Keep in mind though, no inspector is perfect. Even the best
inspector will miss something.
Is it worth it? Finding potential
problems in the house you want to purchase can be a real let down, but it
leaves you with options you won’t have after the transaction is
complete. For starters, the buyer can simply choose not to purchase the home.
Or they can negotiate with the seller to have something fixed before the close
of escrow. And, if the buyer has a home warranty, if something unexpectedly
breaks after moving in that wasn’t noted as a problem in the
inspection, you have that piece of protection when working with the home
warranty company. Especially in homes that have been vacant for an extended
period of time, big-ticket items can and do break after a new owner moves in.
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