When you are in the process of buying a property, a question that may pop up is: Do I really need a home inspection?
The buying process is expensive and time consuming, and with so many items to tackle it can be easy to overlook things like the home inspection, but we are here to remind you not to forget about it!
Keep reading to see why getting a home inspector before you close on a property is really worth it.
To start, you need to remember that the home inspector of your choice will do an interior and exterior thorough check and will help you pinpoint problem areas with your property such as:
Safety issues
One of the most important things the inspector will need to see is whether there are any safety issues around the property that require immediate attention.
You can use this information to know whether you will need to make any major repairs to any part of the house and to factor those into the costs of your investment.
Repair issues
There may be minor or major defects around the property that need repairing. The inspector will most likely tell you the order in which you will need to prioritize repairs inside and outside of the property.
Maintenance issues
A good home inspector will tell you if there are things that will need maintenance in the future. There may be items that are good to go at the time of your purchase, but that will need to be periodically checked to make sure they are still okay as time passes by.
This will help you make sure you take proper care of the property in the long run and can help you save money since you will know what to look out for.
Some important areas you need to make sure your inspector checks are:
Foundation - Even if it is not visible from the outside, they can see for problems with the foundation such as cracks and settling.
Roof - They will mostly check the roof to see if there is any damage or bad installation spots where water could come in, and the condition of the gutters.
Plumbing - The plumbing is really important to the safety of the property, so they will need to test every faucet to see if there are any leaks and how the water pressure is.
Electrical - Since faulty wiring can be a fire hazard, the inspector will check every outlet, including the outlets outdoors, in the garage, in the kitchen and in the bathrooms to see that they have functional ground fault circuit interrupters to avoid risks to the people living there.
Keep in mind, however, that the inspector may recommend you getting an expert in case they notice something wrong since they are not able to go in depth inside the walls to check the pipes or wiring.