What to Expect from a Home Inspection

Your home is likely the largest investment you’ll ever make. As a prospective home buyer, you should hire an expert to help ensure you are making a sound investment. You might spend the next 30 years paying for it.

A home inspector can help a homeowner see beyond the lovely wood floors, crown molding, and trey ceilings to determine whether a house has a solid foundation and discover any potential safety issues or required repairs.

What Does a Home Inspector Do?
A home inspector should evaluate a home from roof to foundation. This includes testing major appliances, such as the dishwasher, air conditioner, and furnace. Home inspectors should look for evidence of current or previous water leaks, test for gas leaks, and test electrical outlets. They should note the presence of mold.

Home inspectors should also inspect attics, living spaces, basements, garages, and crawlspaces. They should report anything that does not meet current local building codes. This covers all aspects of the home, ranging from electrical wiring to spacing on deck rails.

In addition to listing problems with the home (whether a leaky roof or a dripping faucet), home inspection reports should evaluate major systems. For example, the report should note the age and the average life expectancy of the furnace so the homebuyer can estimate upcoming major expenses.

When in doubt, a home inspector should refer clients to specialists. For example, most home inspectors will test the air conditioner to see if it cools properly. If it doesn’t cool to a certain temperature within a certain time frame, the inspector should recommend you have an A/C specialist check out the system.

What is Outside the Scope of a Home Inspection
Before hiring an inspector, ask him for a full list of items that he will not assess. Do not assume the inspector will inspect pools, outbuildings, or sprinkler systems.

A home inspector may notice evidence of termites during a routine inspection. However, inspectors that are not trained in this area  could easily miss an infestation. Therefore, a homebuyer should hire a certified termite inspector to complete a termite inspection prior to closing on a home.

The home inspector is also not trained to provide an appraisal of the home. This is a separate report, and it is based on a comparison of recent sales data of comparable local homes to the home being appraised.

Allconnect can assist with your move by offering free mover quotes, an online change of address form, and help transfer your essential home services. You can also compare services available at your new address to make sure you are getting the best deal.  See tips to help you during your move.