Buying a Home - Inspections

I tend to think most people walk through a house for sale like I do. Check out the place for about 15 minutes, analyze paint colors, look for obvious cracks, check out the landscaping, look for stains in the carpets, and leave. That's a great way to know if you like the place and whether or not you want to make an offer. And, it's a great start. However, this does not qualify as an "inspection." Here are a couple inspection tips from my trip through buying a home.


The first tip applies before you sign your offer sheet. It is customary to build in time for home inspections. You should ALWAYS include this contingency. Not only is it a way to ensure you are buying a house without major problems; it is also a way to get out of your contract if something else is worrying you about the purchase. We built in 10 days in our offer. However, keep in mind that 10 days are calendar days, not business days. So if you have an offer accepted on Saturday you really only have 6 business days to get all your inspections done. Regardless of how tight your timeline is to get the inspections done make sure the clause is in your contract.

The next tip...get quality inspectors. I cannot recommend this enough. As I mentioned in my previous post one of the things that our realtor really helped us out with is in picking an inspector. She recommended a company that was awesome! The home inspector checked every corner of the house including the slab, the crawl space, the water pressure, polarity in the outlets, etc. And, the best part is that when it was all done he sent a full report with color photos of every defect he found. That's what you want in an inspection. You want a detailed report that not only lets you form a decision whether or not to move forward with the purchase but also gives you an idea of the repairs you need to perform in the future. I recommend getting a termite inspection and if you're area is prone to mold get a mold inspection. The $1000 you'll spend on those three inspections is well worth it when you consider the thousands you could end up spending fixing a foundation, rewiring, replumbing, or fixing one of hundreds of other problems that you could find days, months, or years after closing.