Is a Home Inspection Important Before Purchasing?
When purchasing a home, you have the right to conduct a variety of inspections on the potential property. A home inspection is one of the most popular contract contingencies for house buyers. Whether you’ve purchased five homes or are about to buy your first, a home inspection is virtually always recommended.
A home inspection will help you determine what the issues with the home are. While you might know some of the issues, as they are pretty obvious, some hidden things could lead to very expensive repairs. Knowing what you are buying is important in understanding if you are paying a fair price for the home you are interested in.
Queen Creek Real Estate Team always recommends that every home buyer get a home inspection. The process is pretty simple. Once you have found a home that you are interested in purchasing, I can put in your offer, with the contingency of an inspection. This is very common practice, and the sellers will most likely understand that would be in your offer. Because of this, most of the time, sellers will disclose what they know to be wrong with the home. However, things can always be found that even the sellers might not have known about.
What Does a Home Inspection Contingency Mean?
An inspection contingency, often known as a “due diligence contingency,” allows the buyer to have the home inspected within a certain time frame. Furthermore, as the potential buyer, you could use this information to negotiate the price of the home and the repairs or leave the offer altogether. This gives you some wiggle room when issues arise to decide what would be best for you and your family.
What Is Involved in a Home Inspection?
A conventional home inspection will review the condition of the home’s major systems, appliances, and structures and document their condition. This document covers the attic, roof, and foundation, as well as key appliances, HVAC systems, plumbing, and electrical.
A home inspection should take between 2 and 4 hours to complete. In addition, it’s a good idea for the buyer to be present during the home inspection. This is an excellent time to ask questions about the property.
The inspection report will include recommendations and images as well as the inspector’s professional assessment of the home’s condition. The following will be included in the majority of inspection reports:
- Any repairs and upgrades that are recommended and require immediate attention or routine maintenance.
- Appliance and system replacement or service is recommended.
- The state of each issue and level of concern they identified: Safety concerns, significant or minor flaws.
Your inspection report will include the following:
- Exterior inspection-Walls, foundation, roof, garage, and grading.
- Interior inspection-Electrical systems, HVAC system, plumbing, fire safety, bathrooms, laundry room, ventilation, water heater, and appliances.
Why Get a Home Inspection?
While home inspections are great for uncovering safety issues, foundation concerns, and roofing issues, there are some other reasons I feel you should look into getting an inspection for any home you are looking at buying. Here are some of those reasons.
Peace Of Mind
A home is one of the most significant purchases and investments that someone makes in their lifetime. The costs associated with purchasing a home are not inexpensive by any means. The peace of mind that a home inspection may bring is one of the most essential reasons to have one when purchasing a house.
Relatively Low-Cost
Another reason to have a home inspection when purchasing a home is that it is not expensive. Depending on the size of the home, most home inspections will cost between $300 and $600. Because buying a home is such a huge commitment, the minimal cost of a home inspection should help make the decision to have one easy, even if you are quite happy with the home you are purchasing.
Identify Potential Pest and Insect Issues
Termites are a major concern in this area, in particular with damp wood, dry wood, and subterranean species, which are all around us in Arizona. Hawaii is the only state that has us beat for the termite population. That’s concerning! You need to ensure that your home inspection includes a pest inspection for this very reason.
A pest inspection is often combined with a complete home inspection. However, some inspectors will not offer this service. It is up to you to ensure that you have the home not only inspected for structural and system issues but also for pests. Be sure to ask your inspector if a pest inspection is included or not. If not, take the initiative to find a pest inspector to do the job in the same timely fashion.
At Queen Creek Real Estate, home inspections are very important and should never be skipped or missed.
We’re looking forward to hearing from you soon!
