Can I Do My Own Home Inspection?
Can you do your own home inspection? The simple answer is yes you can. However, we don’t recommend it, and your real estate broker or other professional most likely won’t either.
In the weeks to come, we will explore why you should have your home inspected by a trained professional. These reasons are not necessarily in order of importance, so please don’t think one is more crucial than another. This will just give you an idea of what home inspectors do and the value they provide.
#1 Home Inspectors Can See Problems You Can’t
The majority of home inspectors (with a few exceptions based on safety) will walk your roof, traverse through the attic and if you have an older home, army-crawl through the space underneath the home known as the crawlspace (yes I said army-crawl). Most home owners or home buyers are not willing to or even know how to enter and get through these spaces properly and safely. Home Inspectors are trained to do these things and do them on a daily basis. Many do this multiple times a day. Don’t worry about getting muddy and dirty in confined spaces or risk your safety walking your roof. Just let the home inspector do it for you, that’s what they’re paid for!
Another thing to consider when contemplating inspecting your own home, is that there may be issues that you can see wide out in the open that don’t require you to enter any confined spaces, but you may not know they are issues. Home Inspectors are trained and have a lot of experience “seeing” things that others can’t or don’t. Many people don’t know that certain conditions inside an electrical panel or forced air furnace can be serious safety hazards. Usually these conditions are not obvious to the casual observer.
Stay safe. Hire a home inspector!