Things Home Buyers Should Know About Home Inspections

Buying a home is exciting as well as stressful. However, when you have found a perfect house that you can call home, you need to get it inspected. As a homebuyer, you are responsible to hire an inspector who can inspect your house before you buy it. An inspector will check for the plumbing, ventilation, cooling and heating systems, the structure of the building, the foundation, and insulation.

As a homebuyer, you should be present at the time of inspection to understand the process and also clear all your doubts. Here are some things that you should know about home inspections before you sign the contract.

Home Inspections are not compulsory

Many new home buyers think that home inspection is mandatory and has to be done irrespective of whether they want or need it or not. This is not true because it is not mandatory. It is up to the buyers whether or not they want to get their new house inspected.

However, it is always a good idea to get your house inspected before you decide to buy it. Finding problems in the structure or plumbing, etc. can help you in bargaining the price of the property you are buying with your seller.

As a homebuyer you are responsible for inspection

Many first-time buyers are not aware that hiring a home inspector is their responsibility. The homebuyer is also responsible for ensuring that the inspection is completed within a time frame and bear the costs. Hence, you must budget yourself for building inspection services too.

These services are not part of your purchasing package as you would not like to have your house inspected in favor of the seller. When you are hiring an inspector on your own, you can expect an honest opinion and report from him or her regarding the condition of the house.

Hire a Certified Inspector

You can find many building inspectors in the real estate sector. However, you need to ensure that they are certified. A certified inspector is trained to identify the problems in the house that can easily be missed out by you. He or she will provide you with a genuine report on the basis of which you can discuss the price of the property. You can look for reliable and certified inspectors on the internet and also get their reviews.

What is covered in Home Inspection?

Before you hire any home inspector, you need to understand what all things are covered under it. Every inspection service may vary from location to location and the kind of structure or building it is. However, there are some basic things that are covered by these services everywhere. Some of these include:

Internal plumbing and electrical systems

Cooling and heating systems

Conditions of the floor, ceiling, door, walls, etc.

Insulation

Ventilation

Foundation

Basement

Overall structure

What is not covered in Home Inspection?

No matter how much you are paying for your home inspection, everything is not covered under one package. Each home inspector has the training to inspect certain areas of the house. Most of them do not cover chimneys, roof repairs, septic tanks, wells, sheds, outhouses, inside the walls, etc. However, you can check or seek the help of the seller to inspect these areas so that you are happy with your purchase and do not expect to add to your cost on repairs.

Be a part of the Home Inspection

When your home is getting inspected, make sure that you are part of the inspection. Go with the home inspector and understand the procedure. Ask as many questions as you want so that you are clear about what is happening. You can also ask for the report of the inspection from the inspector.

I have vast experience of real estate market and own/manage RealEstateIndia.com, a leading property portal in India that manages huge database of property/agent across the country.