What You Need to Know About Hiring a Home Inspector

A home inspection is a visual examination of the exterior and interior of a residential property.

The standard home inspection report will cover the condition of the grounds, the structure, and the mechanical systems to determine possible structural defects, broken or obsolete components, and damaged components due to age, wear and tear.

Other than owning a business, a home purchase is the largest single investment anyone makes in his or her lifetime. A home inspection may uncover a need for repairs or possible builder oversights as well as areas that maintenance has lacked over the years. The inspections will give you the information you need to make an informed and confident decision about the house before purchase and possibly improve your negotiating position.

A home inspector is intimately familiar with the inner workings of a home and how they are supposed to work together that the most experienced homeowner would be unaware of. The inspector will ensure proper safety, procedures and products were used for all systems of a home to ensure they will function together properly as well as report the reason these systems might fail.

The home inspection is a report of the current condition of the home and an estimate of potential issues down the road. This report is not meant to make the decision for you, but to give you the information needed to negotiate necessary repairs into the purchase or to ensure you know what will need to be done in the near future. You can use this to negotiate a lower price or you may choose to do the repairs yourself depending upon your financial position and expertise.

No. A home inspection is only meant to give you the information needed to understand the current condition of the house. It is not a valuation of the house, a graded report or a pass or fail examination. The information gathered could be used to deter a buyer from purchasing a home due to the needed system upgrades and repairs based upon the report and description of what is needed from the professional inspector.

Yes. The home inspection provides you with the knowledge to move forward with the purchase with confidence. In addition you can use the report from the inspector to gain educational experience to be much more familiar with how your home works.

An inspection can vary in cost depending upon the size and detail of the home along with the geographic location. Older homes and homes with additional systems such as septic system may cost more to inspect as well. Cost should not be a deciding factor, an inspection is a necessary part of a home purchase experience and the qualifications and experience of an inspector should weigh more than the cost associated with the actual inspection.