Why Home Inspections are a Must!

A home inspection can ease your mind about the home you have your eye on buying or a house inspection can reveal untold secrets that can cause you to walk away.

When we say “home inspection,” we are talking about a professional home inspector who will impartially and meticulously comb through a home, check its condition with an unbiased approach, predict its future functionality and report objectively on its merits and deficiencies.

An initial, cursory real estate inspection by you, the would-be buyer of the home, does not and should never sufficiently replace a home inspection by a professional home inspector, no matter how knowledgeable you are about home construction. However, if you do have some knowledge of home construction, you can get a decent idea yourself about a home’s condition by doing some poking around on your own with a flashlight and a small ladder — eliminating homes that don’t measure up (no matter how pretty they look) and identifying homes that do.

But a reputable, experienced home inspector is always worth the cost because he can provide an objective analysis and comprehensive report about the home’s condition so that you can make sure that you don’t fall victim to the emotional attachment you have built up about the home you have targeted.

A professional home inspection can also reveal environmental hazards that often are not visibly apparent, such as asbestos, lead paint, which are both sometimes found in older homes, or radon, a latent, silent killer.

According to the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), also known as Freddie Mac, “hiring a professional home inspector can be one of the most important things you can do to make sure your home is in good condition. An independent authorized inspector can uncover defects with the house that could cost you a lot of money down the road. If the home inspector finds a serious problem, like the roof needing to be replaced, you’ll know up front and can negotiate with the seller for the cost of the repair or replacement. If you don’t find out until after you own the house, the problem (and cost) are yours alone.”

Finding a Home Inspector

Your real estate agent should be able to provide you with a list of professional home inspectors in your area. If your agent can’t help in this regard, consult the Internet or the local Yellow Pages or contact friends or relatives who have recently moved and ask who they used for a home inspection.