When purchasing a home it’s important to know as much as possible about your investment before your inspection contingency is due to release. You’ll want to know the possible faults of the property to assess if the home is a good fit for you and to further do investigations with specialized professionals. A professional home inspection can be done at a cost between $350 to $500. Here are some of the major areas that come up on home inspections:
- Roof: You’ll want to ensure your roof is in good condition especially if you’re purchasing a home over the Summer months and we haven’t had rain in a while. One of the benefits of purchasing a home in the rainy months is that you really can see if there are any leaks in a roof.
- Heating and Air Conditioning. I find most homeowners aren’t in the habit of servicing their HVAC systems yearly. This could be a hidden cost passed along to you, the buyer. Servicing the HVAC costs around $75 to $150. A general home inspector will check that the air conditioner is pushing out cold or hot are within a certain range. If the HVAC isn’t meeting these minimum requirements, a good home inspector will recommend that you get a closer look by a specialized professional.
- Attic and Crawl Space issues. This is where we find hidden problems never seen by the homeowner that can turn into large, cost problems for you, the buyer, to fix. It’s important to have all areas of the home inspected. Things like electrical issues pose a worry for many Home Buyers and should have proper assessing.
- Pest Work. One place you can always guarantee there will be work to be done is on a pest inspection. A pest inspection doesn’t always just mean real “pests” like bugs, but mostly means water damage that harbors wood deterioration.
- Specialized Inspectors. I like to say it’s like going to your general practitioner for a health examination. If your general doctor finds something that needs further diagnosis, they will send you to a specialist. That is exactly what happens in real estate as well. Be prepared and have time on hand to potentially need to pay additional monies and have a second look at certain areas.
These are just a few of the areas we see that come up on a home inspection. As you can see, an inspection pays for itself. Don’t forget, always inspect! A good home inspector can save you lots of money and give you peace of mind!
