A friend of
mine from North Carolina sent this to me.
It was in her local newspaper. 13
Things Home Inspectors Won’t Tell You
1. Don’t find a home inspector through
your real estate agent. It’s in the
agent’s best interest to have the deal go through quickly, so some pitch
inspectors who find few problems.
2. If I don’t spend at least two hours
at the house, I’m what we call a drive-by-inspector, and you’re not getting your
money’s worth. A thorough inspector
checks the crawl space, opens the breaker box and walks the roof if safe enough. Most houses take me every bit of three hours.
3. I won’t tell you not to buy a house,
because I’m not supposed to give real estate advice. But if I keep telling you that the house has “a
lot of issues” or has “a major issue”, read between the lines-or at least be
prepared to spend big money to fix some problems.
4. If you’re a seller, you should clean
and prepare your house the same way you would for a showing. Most people leave a mess, and when the buyers
arrive with me, their jaws hit the floor.
5. Ask to see a sample report before you
hire me-it will give you a good idea of what kind of inspector I am. Do I include digital pictures? It’s a great way to compare two inspectors.
6. Even brand-new homes should be
inspected. We find a ridiculous amount
of things wrong in new construction: leaks, electrical issues, improperly
installed appliances, clogged pipes because the tile guy cleaned his tools in
the sink.
7. If you want the sale of your home to
go smoothly, have the house inspected before you put it on the market. Working with me can give you time to find a
reasonably priced contractor or to make the repairs yourself.
8. Please, if you’re going to pay for my
services, read my full report-not just the summary. Many people don’t.
9. I’ve encountered every kind of hazard. Once, I was crawling underneath a bathroom,
and I felt something strange beneath me. I looked down and discovered I was on a huge
pile of double edged razor blades. I
took a picture of it because I thought no one would believe me.
10. If
you have a lot of questions, don’t ask them as I’m walking through the house-it
will distract me, and I might miss something.
Let’s go through them at the end.
11.
I
can’t see under the cement slab or inside the walls, so if a dishonest seller
wants to go out of his way to hide defects, I might not be able to find them.
12.
Some
of the worst homes are those owned by do-it-yourselfers. I’ve seen toilets flushing with hot water,
weird appliance hookups, and indoor electrical panels dangerously mounted
outside in the elements. Hire a
professional if you don’t know what you’re doing.
13.Roof
and foundation issues can stop a sale fast.
If you’re selling and are not sure of their conditions, get a
professional to evaluate them ahead of time-and make sure tree limbs trimmed
far away from the roof to prevent damage.