When buying a home, you want to be sure that you are getting your money’s worth.
Of course, there is no perfect home. It’s expected that you would have to spend something on your new house. The average is $6,000 within the first six months, according to industry experts. Why repair the stuff that you bought when you should be buying new ones?
You should have a professional home inspection to avoid such troubles. It’s best if you find an inspector who is a member of an association that has very strict requirements for membership (such as the American Society of Home Inspectors and the National Association of Home Inspectors).
The inspector should provide you with a list of what the inspection will result in. For instance, there are some inspectors who wouldn’t inspect the house for termites (or termite damage), mould severity, or indoor air quality. The inspector should remind you that the inspection report is not a guarantee. He is also not liable for the repairs as a result of his report.
Even if you’ve already hired an inspector, you should still do a little investigating yourself. For example, you can hire a termite inspector even if your lender doesn’t require it. You should have the inspector look for all types of pests. Termites are just one of the pests that can damage houses. Other pests include carpenter bees, rats, squirrels, and scorpions.
You may have received a disclosure form with the signed contract for purchase. In most states, the seller would be required to fill this out. But you shouldn’t rely on this report only. There can be lots of issues that the owner won’t remember or won’t consider important. Yes, the basement got wet twice in the last ten years, but they could forget about it or not consider it a problem.
Disclosure issues usually arise because buyers expect the disclosure to hold more power than it really does. Make sure that your inspector has a copy of the disclosure and will look at any issues brought up by the seller.
When you buy a home, you have to know everything about it, the neighborhood, the market conditions, and the mortgage options. This will give you a better negotiating tool when you deal with lenders and sellers. So make sure you have a full understanding of these things.