Once a property is "under contract", there are basically four hurdles to clear to get to closing.
1) Inspection
2) Apprisal
3) Title/HOA
4) Financing
Now this is not an all-inclusive list. There are, in fact, many things that can derail a real estate transaction. But these are the "big four".
With the high number of bank-owned properties on the market, home inspections are more important than ever.
Here is a partial list of what your home inspector should be looking for when your property is inspected:
- Siding: Looking for dents, buckling or deterioration
- Foundation: Looking for cracks or water seepage
- Exterior brick: Looking for cracked bricks or mortar pulling away from bricks
- Insulation: Looking for condition, adequate condition for climate
- Doors and Windows: Looking for loose or tight fits, condition of locks, condition of weatherstripping
- Roof: Looking for age, condition of flashing, pooling water, buckled shingles, or loose gutters and downspouts
- Ceilings, Walls and Moldings: Looking for loose pieces, drywall that is pulling away
- Porch / Deck: Loose railings or steps, signs of rot
- Electrical: Looking for condition of fuse box / circuit breakers, number of outlets in each room
- Plumbing: Looking for poor water pressure, banging pipes, rust spots or corrosion that could suggest leaks, sufficient insulation
- Water Heater: Looking for age, size adequate for house, speed of recovery, energy rating
- Furnace / Air Conditioning: Looking for age, energy rating.
- Garage: Looking to see if exterior is in good repair, condition of floors, operability of door mechanism
- Basement: Signs of leakage or prior standing water, musty smell
- Attic: Looking for adequate ventilation, water leaks from roof
- Septic Tank (if applicable): Adequate absorption field capacity for the percolation rate in your area and the size of your family
- Driveways / Sidewalks: Looking for cracks, heaving pavement, crumbling near edges, stains
Remember, an inspector's job is not to tell you whether or not you should buy a home, but rather to create a detailed "punchlist" of every defect he can spot with a visual inspection.
Once this step is completed, we sit down and work on a strategy for negotiating repairs with the seller.
A thorough home inspection should cost betweeen $300 and $400, but it's about the most important "pre-closing" investment you can make.
