A home inspection is an integral part of your due diligence as a buyer. I strongly recommend to all of my clients that they put in a home inspection as a condition of a sale. If they refuse then I ask that they sign a document recognizing that I recommended it and they declined. You can already get a feeling of a home inspection’s importance.
It’s not simply enough to get a home inspection. You want to get a good home inspection. You get what you pay for in almost everything and it’s true in this regard as well. The home inspection company I recommend charges around $600.00 per inspection, but they are thorough. Clients have occasionally insisted on using their own much less expensive inspector and have paid the price with a missed problem that likely should have been noted.
Now a home inspection does not eliminate risk, but a prudent inspector will greatly reduce that risk on your behalf! I don’t want my clients to knowingly buy a lemon. I want them to be fully informed. What they do with that information is up to them. I am more than happy to offer advice or at least to point out the pro’s and con’s of any findings in the inspection report. A good inspector will be happy to have you follow along so you can see any problems first hand. A good inspector will document and that means lots of photographs. And a good inspector will have access and know how to use a thermal imaging camera in order to see any problems such as those with insulation, water, or mould that cannot be readily discovered by the human eye alone. Inspectors are not allowed to offer any cost estimates for repairs.
So the point of a home inspection is to offer you as a buyer protection and to give you information so you can make an informed decision. Thanks for reading!
By Patrick Murray Join me on Google+