The Home Inspection
One of the conditions of a home sale is the home inspection. If you are financing a home it is a requirement (along with an appraisal and perhaps some additional hoops to jump through). Even with a cash offer like ours, unless you're VERY comfortable with assuming all the risk on the knowledge of yourself or a buddy, you're wise to have one done. This gives you the opportunity to get a more detailed "snapshot" of the condition of the house in a time frame that allows you to request repairs/a discount or to walk away from the deal based on the findings.
We've been involved with home inspections from both sides: as a buyer and a seller. We take the view that the home inspection is the chance to see if there are any conditions present that would affect our ability to occupy the property: mold, structural, electrical, plumbing, roof, etc. We're looking for items that are safety-related.
Some people look at this as a way to get the small items fixed that normally come with home ownership: replace a screen, clean the showers better, things like that. Now you can certainly request those things (and we've asked and been asked to do them) but in this case we know this renovation is going to take time and those trivial items (to us) well, we would just feel better doing them ourselves.
Our home inspection team consisted of a retired plumber, a roofer, an exterminator and a chimney inspector. I've heard people whine about the cost of multiple inspectors but, given that their fees could save you from a MASSIVE money pit (and that the cost can be less than one-tenth of a percent of the home's price), it can be money well-spent.
This is also a great time to ask a disinterested party about the condition of the systems you are looking to buy. I knew a little about 24-volt lighting systems when we made our offer. Talking to someone who knows how common they are and how they function IN THIS HOUSE was very reassuring. Ask questions- you are paying them for information.
Our inspection lasted nearly three hours and that was with two of them working the entire time. The bug guy came and went, the chimney guy would be there the next day and send us the report that afternoon. We were able to ask them about the "ancient" boiler in our basement and found out that boiler heat doesn't dry out the air like forced air does (which is bad for guitars). So what we feared might be an immediate expensive HVAC replacement scenario disappeared. The inspector will tell you that they're not guaranteeing it will work tomorrow, just that it was working today and appeared to be in serviceable condition (or otherwise).
When they had seen everything in the house and the shop we had a short meeting where they told us that we had a spacious 1950s ranch that was in pretty good shape. There was a newer roof on it, the basement was dry, the electrical system has some idiosyncrasies because of it's age/design and only a couple of minor electrical issues that we felt we would ask the owners to fix because, well...safety. The heater heated and the cooler cooled. So apart from some cosmetic issues and a couple of slow drains there weren't any real problems. The chimney report pointed out a number of issues that needed fixing which we expected and the bug guy said there had been termites as one point but the property had been treated and there was no sign of insect activity that he could see.
And there you go. We signed the post-inspection report to have the three minor electrical issues addressed (which was accepted) and we're now waiting to hear when the final closing date will be. ~Mr.
Next step: Closing!
We've been involved with home inspections from both sides: as a buyer and a seller. We take the view that the home inspection is the chance to see if there are any conditions present that would affect our ability to occupy the property: mold, structural, electrical, plumbing, roof, etc. We're looking for items that are safety-related.
Some people look at this as a way to get the small items fixed that normally come with home ownership: replace a screen, clean the showers better, things like that. Now you can certainly request those things (and we've asked and been asked to do them) but in this case we know this renovation is going to take time and those trivial items (to us) well, we would just feel better doing them ourselves.
Our home inspection team consisted of a retired plumber, a roofer, an exterminator and a chimney inspector. I've heard people whine about the cost of multiple inspectors but, given that their fees could save you from a MASSIVE money pit (and that the cost can be less than one-tenth of a percent of the home's price), it can be money well-spent.
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| Our home inspector confirmed our suspicions that the chimney needed maintenance and that hiring a chimney contractor was the right thing to do. |
This is also a great time to ask a disinterested party about the condition of the systems you are looking to buy. I knew a little about 24-volt lighting systems when we made our offer. Talking to someone who knows how common they are and how they function IN THIS HOUSE was very reassuring. Ask questions- you are paying them for information.
Our inspection lasted nearly three hours and that was with two of them working the entire time. The bug guy came and went, the chimney guy would be there the next day and send us the report that afternoon. We were able to ask them about the "ancient" boiler in our basement and found out that boiler heat doesn't dry out the air like forced air does (which is bad for guitars). So what we feared might be an immediate expensive HVAC replacement scenario disappeared. The inspector will tell you that they're not guaranteeing it will work tomorrow, just that it was working today and appeared to be in serviceable condition (or otherwise).
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| Not nearly as scary as the boiler from the Christmas movie we watch every year. |
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| One electrical issue was an open junction box in the attic. Easily fixed but something we asked to have corrected before closing. |
And there you go. We signed the post-inspection report to have the three minor electrical issues addressed (which was accepted) and we're now waiting to hear when the final closing date will be. ~Mr.
Next step: Closing!
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