The home buying and selling process look something like this: Get preapproved for a mortgage, find your dream home and win the bidding war. Get an offer, get an inspection, and re-negotiate, and do the other steps to close. But before anyone can move those boxes in and start enjoying your new property, you have one more major step to take: the home inspection.
A home inspection isn’t an appraisal. In fact, an inspection has nothing to do with your home’s value -or how much your lender is willing to finance. It’s simply a way to assess a property’s safety and long-term viability.
Here’s what you should know about home inspections:
What it is:
A home inspection is an independent, third-party evaluation of a home’s structure, systems, and features. The inspector will look for potential problems or deficiencies on the property. We are currently seeing recurring issues/questions around decks, chimneys, and older HVAC and electrical systems.
• Why you need it:
A proper inspection ensures the home is safe to live in and a good long-term investment for the buyers.
• When it happens:
Home inspections generally occur after the seller has accepted your bid during our due diligence period (usually 7 to 14 days). This gives the buyer the opportunity to withdraw your offer, should there be any major issues with the property.
• What’s covered:
A home inspection includes the roof, foundation, insulation, appliances, HVAC systems, plumbing, electrical systems and more.
• How you’re involved:
The seller and the buyers are not required to be on-site, but it’s in your best interest to be there if you’re the buyer. We find having the seller present is actually a detriment to the process. The inspector can walk you through any defects he or she finds.
If you’re a buyer the home inspection is designed to protect the investment of the home, so choose your inspector carefully. Make sure the home inspector is experienced, licensed and insured where required. And don’t forgo an inspection just to save a little cash.
If you’re a seller we sometimes recommend getting a home inspection before receiving offers in order to identify and fix potential problems the buyer’s inspector will find. This way we can control the issue and costs to resolve them.
In either case, we have inspectors we recommend. Just give us a call at 770-726-1454.
