Why Are Home Inspections So Important?

Winter is upon us, which makes us all want to stay in our homes and never come out. However, winter is quickly followed by spring. Spring is prime time for home buying and home selling all over the United States. While it is easy to get lost in the frenzy, you need to remember the importance of getting a home inspection done on your potential new home. It’s true that in most places, home inspections aren’t mandatory, and a home inspection is going to cost you a bit of money. But getting a home inspection may save you from an expensive repair down the road. Here is some information you need to know about home inspections.

What Is A Home Inspection?

Often, home inspections are used to give the buyer a chance to make sure the home he or she is buying is structurally sound without any major issues. The option to have a home inspection is in many real estate contracts. It allows you to back out of purchasing a home if the inspection finds serious defects in the home. Nearly all new homes under construction are inspected multiple times to make sure the construction is without a problem.

In a home inspection, an inspector will look at your home from top to bottom, looking for problems in the major structures of your potential new home. Most inspections last at least two hours, and you will get a report at the end of the inspection with the findings. The report will identify issues, note how serious the issue is, and how it can be fixed, if possible. If you have a good inspector, he or she will let you know about routine maintenance on the home as well.

What Do Home Inspections Cover?

There are several things a home inspection will cover. First, the inspector will look at the outside of the home. This means the roof, crawlspace, and exterior walls. While they can’t look at the foundation directly, they can tell you if they see cracking or other signs of foundation damage. Inspectors also look at the grading to make sure that rainfall is directed away from your house and not towards it.

The inspector will look at the garage or carport to note that the garage is properly ventilated. The water heater will be checked as well to make sure it was safely installed.

Home inspections also cover the interior of the house. All of the major systems within your home, plumbing, electrical, HVAC will be checked for problems or needed repairs. Your appliances that will stay with the house are also checked. The laundry room is checked for ventilation issues as well, which could be a fire hazard. The home inspection also checks to make sure your home is fire safe.

Home inspections are vital for homeowners. If a home inspector finds a significant problem, the potential new homeowner can ask that the seller fix the issues before the sale is complete. It also allows you to walk away from a sale if a home inspection finds major issues.

If you are in the market to buy a home, you need to consider paying for a home inspection. Paying a little money now may prevent you from paying a lot of money later.