In my last blog  I talked about the importance of checking the condition of the home before buying it. As a buyer, you want to make sure that the home you’re buying is in good condition and is on a firm foundation. You need to make sure that you are not buying a money pit.  Inspections and disclosures are two things that help you determine the condition of a home.  I will like to talk about inspections in more details.

A home is a quite a complicated structure. It has many systems. The key systems in a home are foundation, structure, roof, plumbing, drainage, electrical, heating and ventilation. A home also has many appliances like the water heater, stove, oven, dish washer. Then you can have additions like pool.  Before buying a home, you want to make sure that a good inspector inspects all these systems thoroughly.

Critical inspections are – home inspection, roof inspection, termite inspection, pool inspection, chimney inspection.

Home inspection costs about $500 depending on the size of the home. Roof inspection is about $100. Termite inspection is about $200 -250. Pool inspection is about $100-200. A Chimney inspection costs about $ 150-250. For a typical standard home, inspections cost about $1000  or more depending on the size of the home.

I hire competent inspectors who are certified and have done these inspection thousands of time. I have been working with some of them for almost 18 – 19 years. They are very thorough and stand by their work.

I strongly encourage my buyers to attend the home inspections. It helps them to know what they’re buying and become familiar with the home they are buying. I also make it a point to attend all inspections.

It is equally important for the seller to know the condition of their home. The seller should get the inspections done before putting their home in the market for sale. This helps the seller make any needed repairs before putting the home for sale.

Because, after the property goes in the market, some of these issues can be a big surprise and a deal breaker. The seller should have these inspection reports on hand for the buyers to see. This helps the buyer to be informed and to know the condition of the property before making an offer.  Also, if needed, the buyer can do re-inspections or any further inspections.

Make sure you work with an agent who will help you thoroughly inspect the home you are buying and handhold you through the process.