What is a Home Inspection? (And Why Every Home Buyer Should Get One)
This article is a free resource in the Home Buyer University course offered by Life & Legacy Properties.
When someone buys a house, part of the process involves completing a home inspection.
This is a full-home evaluation by a qualified professional who inspects all visible areas and major systems like the roof, plumbing, electrical, windows, and more.
Buyers are also advised to get the sewer line inspected to ensure there are no cracks, breaks, or blockages or other imperfections that might negatively affect the ability of the sewer line to properly drain waste away from the home.
Many buyers also choose run tests that identity mold, moisture behind walls, or radon gas.
This is a great time for a buyer to learn about the home and request important repairs be completed by the seller.
Here are some recent items that have come up as flagged items in homes I’ve helped clients buy or sell - some major, some minor:
1. Non-working electrical outlets (easy fix by an electrician).
2. Bathroom exhaust fans that did not exhaust outside the attic (optional correction at buyer’s discretion)
3. Unsafe radon levels (required installation of a mitigation system - roughly a $1,500-2,500 project).
4. Missing smoke and carbon monoxide detectors (easy, but necessary correction for safety purposes)
5. Improperly installed roofing. Example below: this smooth sheet of wood in the photo below should have nails poking through. In this case, it doesn’t because the roofer mistakenly used too short of nails while installing this portion of a brand new roof.
6. Broken window latches. (needed repairs by a window professional)
7. Improperly sloped concrete garage floor (required mud jacking to level out the concrete and restore proper slope)
8. Polybutylene plumbing (required full-plumbing replacement in the home - over a $10,000 repair)
9. Clogged, improperly sloping, and missing gutters (proper water drainage away from a home’s foundation is a big deal).
10. Broken sewer line - no one wants their sewer line to back up into their home. This fix often costs $3,000-$10,000, depending on the scope of the work.
Navigating a home inspection is a crucial step in the home buying or selling process. It’s generally unfamiliar territory for both buyers and sellers:
What repairs are necessary?
What are the cheapest, but not cheap, solutions?
How should a buyer clearly word their repair requests?
What types of professionals are required for the jobs?
What are reasonable prices for jobs?
These negotiations can commonly involve thousands of dollars on the line, so having a competent, experienced agent who has been part of hundreds of home sales is a big advantage.
Questions? Email me here.
