Purchasing a home can be one of the most stressful times in your life. While home inspections can be a large contributor to the stress, it is still a good idea to get a home inspection. In this article we will walk through why you should always do a home inspection when buying a home and advice on how to make it less stressful and even a little fun.
What is a home inspection?
A home inspection is, much as the name describes, an inspection of a home and its components. Inspections are completed by a home inspector, a specialized trade that requires years of training and, in many states (28 to be exact), to be licensed by the state.
A home inspector is trained to follow standard of practices (SOP), guiding what they inspect in a home and how to document their findings in inspections reports. As a prospective homebuyer, one of the best ways to prepare yourself for a home inspection is to actually read the SOP of the inspector — here is example from InterNACHI, a leading international association of home inspectors. Pay close attention to the limitations and exclusions of the SOP; this will go a long way to help manage your expectations of the inspection.
Why doing a home inspection is important
A home inspection provides you snapshot on the health of the home you are purchasing. The home inspector will complete a thorough review of all the major systems of the home and identify common defects found visually in your home. Below are just a few of the reasons why you should always do a home inspection before buying a home.
Understanding your risk. Owning a home is very much the American dream, but with that dream can come nightmares in the form of maintenance, repairs and upkeep. A home inspection is a great way to understand the condition of your home and if repairs are needed to make it a functioning home. Home ownership is a risk but one worth taking for the right home — inspections allow you to a make a more informed decision on if you want to move forward and map out your plans for the home, with regard to updates you plan to make. It’s just one of the early steps in the home ownership adventure!
Familiarizing yourself with the home. Every home is unique in terms of design and function and as a homeowner you will need to understand how the home operates, much like when buying a car. Unlike a car though, most homes do not come with a owner’s manual, but the closest substitute is your inspection report.
Negotiating your home purchase. Most residential home purchase contracts include an inspection contingency which provides you the opportunity to not only inspect the house before purchasing, but equally important, respond with any requests for repairs / price reduction. Having a high quality inspection report makes this negotiation a lot easier for you and your broker.
How to get started
Here at Inspectify, we are here to help you along the entire inspection experience. We can help you quickly book inspections with thousands of licensed inspectors, understand the findings of the inspection and even help your brokerage team negotiate the best deal for you home. Get started by requesting a home inspection today!
About Inspectify
Inspectify is a tech-enabled home inspection platform that is focused on solving the pain points for every party in the home inspection. From offering a seamless booking experience for homebuyers, negotiation support to real estate brokers to offering free business tools to home inspectors, we are on a mission to make home inspections easier and even a little bit fun. Check out out today at www.getinspectify.com!
