Do you really need a home inspection? Last time we talked about if you could do your own home inspection. While technically in some cases you can, it really isn’t recommended by most professionals in Real Estate.
This time, we will explore another reason why you should have your home inspected by a licensed inspector. I want to state again that all reasons are not equally important, so please don’t think one is more so than another. I just want to give you an idea of what home inspectors do and the value they provide.
#2 A Home Inspection Protects Your Investment
For most people, buying a home is the biggest investment they will ever make. Having a home inspection before purchasing is crucial! You don’t want to buy a “money pit”. It took a lot of work to get where you are and you want to make sure you are investing in something that will take care of you as you take care of it.
Most buyers will pay between $200 and $500 for a home inspection. An analysis from Porch.com reveals that price more than pays for itself in the long run. The report even states that a home inspection saves the average buyer around $14,000 on their purchase.
In the report it says, the average list price before an inspection is $226,600. After the inspection, the average closing price goes down to $212,400.
Home inspections are extremely prudent investments, and can save buyers from unforeseen fiscal challenges. Revealing necessary repairs, agents can negotiate thousands off the price their clients might have had to pay.
A professional inspection is very valuable and can definitely help you navigate through one of the biggest investments you will ever make. Don’t take the chance on your investment. Hire a home inspector!
Having your home inspected by a professional, licensed home inspector is a very important step when buying a home. This still holds true if the home is brand new and no one else has ever lived in it before.
I worked as a contractor and carpenter for an independent home builder for many years before becoming a home inspector. When a home is being built, there are a lot of moving parts. There are dozens of different contractors working together to build the home. From the foundation to the framing, and from the electrical to the plumbing. There are typically different contractors or specialists building or installing the systems and components that pertain to their area of expertise. What happens when all these different specialists are all working at the same time is that sometimes, things get overlooked or just forgotten. Remember, a home is a very complex system.
Many times, the general contractor, the one in charge of making sure everyone does their jobs properly and at the right time, will make what is called a “punch-list”. This is a list of items or projects that need to be completed before the home is finished. Unfortunately, all the things on the list don’t always get done before the home goes on the market.
I recently inspected a brand new home and found several things of interest that would definitely benefit a buyer to know before buying the home. Let me show you what I found.
First, I found that as with many Florida homes, there were no gutters on the lower eaves of the home. Gutters carry storm water away from the home and prevent soil erosion and foundation settlement. To read more about gutters click here.
No gutters on this new home
Soil erosion caused by lack of gutters
After that, I found some stucco cracking under the windows. The cracking was still pretty small, but was beginning to spread just behind a sprinkler head. These heads are notorious for getting broken or twisted so they point backwards. With the stucco beginning to crack behind the sprinkler head, it was only a matter of time before water got inside the wall.
Stucco cracking on a new home
While I was inspecting the exterior, I noticed that none of the windows had screens. This can be fairly common on new homes. Sometimes the screens are stored in the garage or in a shed. Nevertheless, it’s always important to know if they are present and accounted for. I was not able to find any screens on the property.
No screens on new home
No screens on new home
Around the back of the home on the underside of the eaves, I found two open electrical boxes. I assume these were in place for light fixtures, or maybe even power for cameras. But, in the current state, the open boxes could be a safety hazard or could just become damaged due to weather.
Open electrical box on a new home
Open electrical box on a new home
When I was inspecting the garage, I found that the fire-rated service door from the garage to the home was equipped with auto-closing hinges. However, the hinges were not working properly and the door just stayed open when swung. The auto-closing hinges keep the fire wall in place between the home and garage in case there is ever a fire in the garage.
Auto-closing hinges are not working
Last I inspected the bathrooms and found that the hallway bathroom fixtures were very loose and poorly secured at the shower wall. I also found that one of the faucets in the master bathroom was not functioning at all.
Loose fixtures at shower in new house
Faucet not working
Overall, home inspectors do typically find much less deficiencies in new homes over older homes. But, you never know what the situation may be. I once found a serious structural defect in a brand new home.
In closing, even if the home is brand new and no one has ever lived in it before, you definitely should still have the home inspected by a professional and licensed home inspector. You are making a huge investment. You want to know what you are buying.