Should you get a home inspection when buying a house?

With the high cost and multiple expenses of buying a home, buyers sometimes look to avoid certain out of pocket costs such as a home inspection. Unfortunately, this is an invaluable tool that should home be eliminated.

A home inspection will give you a visual analysis of all the systems in the home as well as the home’s structure. The goal of a home inspection is to see if there is anything in the home that is not performing as it should and is unsafe or beyond its useful life. An inspection will cover the interior and exterior of the home.

A home inspection is not a warranty but it gives the buyer some sort of recourse including asking the seller to make repairs or cancelling the purchase contract.

But why do I need a home inspection? The main reason is that it will buy you some piece of mind and coverage. Without a home inspection, if something goes wrong with one of the major systems in your home after closing, you have no way of recourse for the seller to fix the problem. Knowing the home has a certain issue ahead of time allows you to be more prepared and also gives you more options.

home inspectionWhen searching for a home inspector, verify the amount of experience they have in the industry first. Inspectors with affiliations or professional memberships tend to not only be more informed but also more serious about their jobs. It is important to make sure your inspector carries professional liability insurance.

When getting a thorough home inspection, it should cover the condition of the home’s electrical system, heating system, plumbing, central air conditioning system, the roof, visible insulation, attic, walls, floors, ceilings, foundation, doors, windows, landscaping, basement and visible structure.

A professional, thorough home inspection will help you to understand any potential problems in the home and is certainly well worth the cost. An inspector that charges significantly less than others in the area may not provide you with a full report. Remember, you get what you pay for. It will be much more expensive to repair problems that were left out of an inspection report that was not thorough.