The Description And reason.
A home inspection can save you heartache before you move into what you thought was a dream home. It is easy to overlook problem areas when you are caught up in the house itself. Your mind is filled with where you are going to put the furniture, more than it is on whether the furnace is in good working order. This is where a good home inspection can save you some trouble.
A home inspection is a little like an insurance policy. You hire a trained professional to look at the house with a critical eye and find the problem areas. They are trained to look for areas that need repair or which contain defects. Many of these are not visible to the naked eye, such as cracked foundation or worn-out plumbing. This is what the home inspection is for.
Without a home inspection, you have no recourse against the seller.
It is the only thing that stands between you and the seller in negotiating a fair price. Without the home inspection, you could face thousands of dollars in repairs that were not disclosed during the purchase process.
Typical Cost It depends...however...
Most home inspections cost between $250 and $500. This is a small price to pay to find problems with the home. According to statistics from the Federal Trade Commission, nearly 42% of homebuyers face unexpected repairs in their homes costing an average of $500 after moving in. More than one in nine is forced to pay more than $1000 for repairs. This puts the small fee for a home inspection into perspective.
Problems That's what they look for.
A qualified inspector may find problems you don't want to live with and be the reason you don't close on the house. Ideally, the seller will offer to repair any problems so the deal will close, or at least agree to adjust the price to cover the repair costs. This is why adding an inspection contingency clause in the contract is essential.
How would you like to close on your house only to find out that the air conditioning doesn't work the first hot day? Or the furnace when the first frost hits? These are things the inspector will look for.
What Does It Include?
Our next section gives you great detail about the inspection itself.
Page 4 of 9
