Buying a home involves a lot of steps, each one is very important for the whole process to go smoothly. One such step is inspecting the home. Before you buy a property, you have to make sure that you will be getting your money’s worth. One way to do that is to bring someone in to inspect the property and give you a detailed report. This report would then be able to help you decide how much to offer for the property or even whether you should buy the house or not.
The first and most important piece of advice is don’t choose the home inspector because they’re recommended by your real-estate agent. Sadly, it’s far too common for a home inspector to be “in-league” with a real estate agent. The arrangement works like this; the real estate agent sends the home inspector work with the unspoken assumption that the home inspector will “pass” the homes he is sent. If the home inspector in chattanooga finds too many problems and the home doesn’t sell, he won’t get the next referral.
If you live in a state where real estate transactions are handled by real estate attorneys, your attorney should write a letter specifying why you’re withdrawing from the contract. Otherwise, be sure to send the documentation to the seller to get out of the deal and get your money back. If you don’t comply with the terms of the contract, you could lose any money you put towards the purchase of the home.
Consider the professional home inspection to be your safety net. You’ll be able to discover if there is anything wrong with the home, and you can then get the builder or seller to take care of many potential concerns.
If you get a recommendation from your real estate agent you have a good starting place. You now have a name of an inspector and the name of the home inspection company. If you trust your agent completely then you should be OK. Even if you trust them you may still want to check the inspector out to see if the type of inspection report they create is what you are looking for.
In almost every state you must have some form of continuing education to renew your license. Ask what kind of continuing education courses they have taken. Look into your states requirements and see if the inspector is only doing what has to be done or if he is going above and beyond the minimum requirements to make sure that they are well trained and knowledgeable about the current home inspection industry.
Sound confusing? Regardless of the windows in the home to be inspected, there are general things your inspector will check for, such as the condition of their frames, sills and sashes, and their overall operation and fit. He’ll carefully examine the glazing compound or putty around glass panels in older sashes. This is often the most vulnerable part of the window and repair can be time consuming.
The bottom line is that you should find your own home inspector. If your real estate agent discourages you from using your own inspector, or insists you use one of their “recommended” inspectors, then that agent is not looking out for your best interests. Remember, this may well be your home. Protect your investment. Find your own home inspector.
