Inspections - A CRITICAL Part of a Home Purchase!

Congratulations!

So you have decided to jump into the Home Buying process. You are super excited to find the Home of your Dreams and now it is time to make that offer... Wonderful! It was accepted by the Seller and now you need to move to the next step.
The question pops up, " Do you want to do / need to set up Home Inspections?"

Hopefully your chosen Realtor has already coached you in this area. The importance of home inspections cannot be expressed enough. Even though you do not See anything that is apparent, your Inspector has the tools and knowledge to find/ detect certain things with specialized tools, expert knowledge on what to look for in their particular field and can share that with you BEFORE you decide if you want to move forward. This is also known as your Option Period.

Recently, I watched a video which an Inspector shot while doing a home inspection on a very sound looking home that was under contract. As he was finishing up his inspections, one of the last tests he was doing was a sort of hydro process that he had "invented" for testing to see if a Shower pan was good...or even installed. The process involved letting the water sit in the bottom of the shower for a time period without leaking. Afterwards, the inspector used an infrared tool to detect for water leakage. He scanned along the inside of the shower stall and everything looked perfect, under the sink - yes, along the outside perimeter of the shower - check! Now time to look outside ...

What he found was water leaking out from the house at the bathroom, under the bricks & down the side of the foundation in several places! The shower pan had issues, perhaps installed incorrectly, rusted out ... or was non-existent and never installed to begin with! If this Inspection had not taken place it could have cost the future homeowner money as it would be a pretty costly "fix". The shower would need to have tiles removed, flooring torn out and, frankly, who knows what else!

In this situation, I am not sure how or what the outcome was. IF the Buyers were planning on a complete bathroom remodel then perhaps it was a non-issue. At this point you, the Buyer, would have to decide whether to move forward or to keep looking. It could have turned into a negotiating point or, because you were in your Option Period, an out so you could keep looking.

There are so many examples that I could mention but you can see what I mean by the "unseen". Please... do your due diligence and get those inspections! It may cost a little up front but, in the long run, worth every penny!

When working with Clients, This Realtor will always, always recommend hiring a professional, or two, to be the Sherlock Holmes of an upcoming purchase. You will be glad you did!

Happy House Buying! If I can help in any way, please feel free to reach out.

Sincerely,
Lisa