Should You Hire a Professional Home Inspector?

I may be a bit biased when it comes to home inspectors because my brother happens to be one lol but I have encouraged an inspection to every single friend of mine who was considering purchasing a home. Whether you’re new to home ownership, or have a lot of knowledge under your belt, another set of experienced eyes can be really helpful.

Besides just the experience that you’re hiring you’re also getting someone willing to REALLY get down and dirty to tell you everything they possibly can about the home you’re considering.

That’s everything from crawling around crawl spaces, to attics, to checking out your entire future roof!

(The following is a contributed article.)

You’ve found the perfect house. Before you commit to buying it, however, you need to decide if you want a professional home inspection.

Sometimes the decision is easy. Purchasing an older home that’s been exposed to the climate without checking for structural or mechanical problems is incredibly risky.

The homeowner is required by law to report any known problems but there might be lurking issues that haven’t been discovered yet.

New construction can be riddled with problems as well. City building codes only provide the minimum amount of protection. Even if your new home’s exterior looks perfect, you should still hire a professional home inspector.

The decision could potentially save you a lot of money in the long run. If you’re going to have to haggle with your builder over repairs, the time to do it is BEFORE you’ve signed the dotted line.

The American real estate market is slowly recovering from the most recent recession. Builders are constructing new homes again. Homebuyers will be faced with a question- is it worthwhile to get a home inspection?

The answer is yes. Here’s why.

Building Codes Aren’t Enough

You know the house was built to code. Shouldn’t that be enough?

Here’s the problem- modern building codes help ensure that new homes are safe and stable but the system is far from perfect. City inspectors are often rushed and overworked. Houses are comprised of a lot of different components. A government employee might approve sloppy work as long it technically satisfies code requirements.

1. Standards vary

Building codes are regulated nationally. Different regions, however, have different building requirements. The National codes try to account for this but the variation between a place like New England a place like the Southwest is so great that things can easily slip through the cracks.

You want your new home to be perfect. The city inspector may settle for “passable” or “functioning.”

2. Codes only cover the basics

Building codes aren’t designed to create perfect houses, they’re a set of rules intended to ensure basic safety standards are met. The minimum standards are often far below the ideal practice.

3. City inspectors are swamped

A standard home inspection performed by the city is often done as quickly as possible. Officials are adept at spotting major problems, like faulty electrical wiring, but they’re often less thorough about checking components like the HVAC system.

A quality professional home inspector will be able to give you an unbiased, knowledgeableopinion about your new home. You’ll be able to learn about potential maintenance problems as well as get a heads up about current issues.

If the inspector discovers something catastrophic, you’ll save a lot of money by spotting it before you’ve signed any contracts

When Should You Schedule Your Appointment?

For the best results, you should schedule two appointments with your home inspector. The cost varies but you should expect to spend at least a couple hundred dollars.

The first visit should occur early in the building process before the walls are complete while the final visit should be scheduled when the house is complete.

It’ll be easier for the inspector to examine certain systems while the walls are still under construction. If there are any problems, you want to know about them as soon as possible so they can be rectified.

Unless you’re a practiced contractor or extremely knowledgeable about construction techniques, it’s very difficult to spot most construction blunders.

That’s the problem with relying solely on the government inspector. A thorough home inspection takes a lot of time and effort. The city inspector doesn’t work for you, they only arrive to make sure that your house meets the minimum safety standards

During your final inspection, you’ll find out what still needs to be fixed. You need to tell your builder about your concerns. Don’t purchase the house until everything is built to your satisfaction.

Hire a Professional

New homes are so appealing when they’re completed that it can be hard to imagine that there’s anything wrong with them. Well-maintained older homes have a similar charm.

However, that’s no reason to skip having a professional home inspection.

Buying a home is a huge investment. Whether you plan to live on your new property or rent it out, you want it to be in the best shape possible. A mistake by the builders can end up costing you a lot of money. If the error is severe, it could even be dangerous.

An independent home inspector will be able to spot problems that you would have missed on your own. There’s no such thing as a truly perfect home.

All houses have vulnerabilities. If you know what to look out for, however, you can mitigate the damage.

(This is a contributed post, for more information about my compensation please read my disclosure policy)