How important are home inspections to a home buyer?

Why a home inspection is important?

When you are under contract to purchase a house it is time to get a home inspection report. The home buying process is about checking out the house to make sure you want to buy it. The home inspection is when a professionally trained inspector visually and physically evaluates the house, from the foundation all the way up to the roof, looking for potential defects or red flags. It is important to locate in the purchase agreement the inspection contingency time frame. The home buyer would want to schedule the home inspector and give time for the full inspection report.

How much does a home inspection cost?

Home inspections can cost $300 to $800 or more sometimes. A professional home inspection is an examination and objective assessment of the current condition of a house is a key part of buying a Sacramento home. This takes time to do correctly. The home inspector also must do a written report. Also if you choose a certified home inspector, the cost could be more. The average home inspection costs will be in the average range, but if the property is special in some way, the cost could be much higher. Horse ranches, care home properties, senior housing, and investment properties will cost more for the inspection or have need of other more specialized inspectors.

What do home inspectors look for?

The home inspector uses these 7 categories to develop their inspection process. Each home inspector has their own inspection checklist to have a more thorough inspection. But these 7 areas should be on every inspector’s list.

1. Basic safety features
2. The foundation
3. The roof
4. The electrical systems
5. The plumbing systems
6. Heating and air conditioning
7. Specialist issues that need a professional with specialized equipment (septic system, pest reports, etc.)

What are home inspections?

The certified home inspectors should perform a comprehensive examination of the important structures of the building. It typically involves the assessment of all major systems in the house including HVAC system, electrical panel and plumbing issues. An inspection expert can also check appliance items included in home selling or safety hazards. Home inspection importance is understand the current condition of the house.

Home inspections represent the time to find the defects on the home in the real estate transaction. The home inspection contingency should cause the sellers to pay for the defects the home inspector found before closing. If an expert house inspection reveals significant deficiencies in a property, potential customers could then withdraw from the sale of their home. A contingency inspection is often included with home sales contracts that give buyers the chance to identify serious concerns before completing the purchase of their home.

How long does a home inspection take?

Home inspections take about 3-4 hours. You will need this report before the inspection contingency period expires. It is a good idea for the home buyers to attend an inspection in order to see how it is done and see if the inspector will provide answers to the inspection. Home inspection questions can be answered if you are at the property when the inspector is there.

The report should be done within days but I have had the inspection company take 2 weeks to get the report to us. The report should be able to provide the examination details on the condition of the structure of the house.

How important is the home inspection report?

The home inspection report is extremely important. Homebuyer inspections are the key way to understand the condition of the home.

1. First it documents all the issues with the property. If you are present and the home inspectors go over the list, it would be very hard to remember everything they say.
2. The reports generally have the issues gathered together in types of problems, safety issues, action items and consideration issues for normal maintenance. The mortgage lender may require a home inspection.
3. The inspection report many times shows and tells where important housing things are located. An example is the water shut– off value. Notes on the hvac systems, septic tank if the property has one, sewer lines, home maintenance, and a comprehensive overview. And many other things to know about the property.

The home inspector’s report

The inspection report is the professional opinion regarding conditions of the property as it existed on the day of the inspection. Most inspectors document the Standards of Practices they used in the Inspection Agreement. The home inspection report is very important to a first time home buyer.

The inspection report includes three sections: 1) Key Findings, 2) Property Information, and 3) Inspection Agreement. It is important to evaluate all three sections in order to fully understand the property and general conditions. The following definitions may be helpful in reviewing your reports.

Action Items may include:

• Items that are no longer functioning as intended

• Conditions that present safety issues

• Items or conditions that may require repair, replacement, or further evaluation by a specialist

• Items that were inaccessible

Consideration Items may include:

• Conditions that may require repair due to normal wear and the passage of time.

• Conditions that have not significantly affected usability or function- but may if left unattended.

The key findings of the written report

The key findings of the report section are designed to summarize the findings and conditions that may require your immediate attention. Typically, the Key Findings Summary is used to help prioritize issues with other parties involved in the real estate transaction. It is important to review carefully all sections of your report and not rely solely on the Key Findings summary. The home buying process is made up of many steps and the house inspection is an important one.

The property information of the report

The property information of the report section contains the detailed findings on all items inspected. Component locations, system types and details, maintenance tips, and other general information about the property will be included as appropriate. The realty check home inspections is in the details of the report.

The inspection agreement or legal disclaimer of the inspection report

Home inspectors get blamed for many things. Over the years the inspection report is designed to cover the inspector and the inspection company. So you will find wording like these:

In general, home inspections include a visual examination of readily accessible systems and components to help identify material defects – as they exist at the time of the inspection.

This inspection is a non-invasive examination of readily accessible systems and components as outlined in the Standards of Practice of the California Real Estate Inspection Association (CREIA)

In compliance, our reports are subject to the Definitions, Scope, Limitations, Exceptions, and Exclusions as outlined in the Standards of Practice.

• If the inspection is performed in connection with the sale, exchange or transfer of the property, copies of the report may be provided to the principals in the transaction and their agents. However, the report is for your sole information and benefit.
• We do not intend for anyone but the person(s) listed on this report to benefit, directly or indirectly, from this agreement and inspection report. Our contractual relationship is only to the person(s) purchasing our report/service.
• The inspection agreement, terms of our inspection and any guarantees are parts of the standard inspection report you agree with   when hiring an inspection company. The company puts in language that holds them not liable, responsible or accountable if they miss something in the inspection. This is just part of modern litigious society. But from my experience with home inspectors they do a thorough job and will give the home buyer good information about the house’s condition.
• I noticed this one on a recent report. The inspection contingency period is very important. We have a problem getting a home inspection scheduled with in the contingency period. I think this is the inspection company saying it is not our problem.
• A part of many real estate transactions are contingencies limiting the time available for follow up inspections, repair work, or further inquiries. We are not responsible for any investigations that are not completed prior to the end of the contingency period.
• A general home inspection is not technically exhaustive and it is possible that a qualified specialist or licensed contractor may find conditions that are not listed in this report.
• Our inspection cannot identify latent or patent defects, conditions that were not exposed to view, or conditions that may develop as a result of defective materials or faulty workmanship.
• Any observations by a general home inspector, who is not otherwise specifically qualified to inspect for evidence of pests and other wood destroying organisms, is not a substitute for inspection by a licensed Pest Control Operator. This report includes comments on current visible conditions only.
• Environmental issues include but are not limited to; radon, asbestos, mold, lead-based paint, lead contamination, toxic waste, formaldehyde, electromagnetic radiation, buried fuel oil tanks, ground water contamination, soil contamination, etc. Evaluation and comment on these items is beyond the scope of a general home inspection.
• We are not geo-technical, civil, or structural engineers and cannot render an opinion regarding soil stability or potential for movement.
• We make no attempt to list all conditions we deem cosmetic in nature.
• Photographs have been provided as examples of some of the issues identified in this report but are not meant to represent every defect or every instance of a given defect that has been found.

These are just a sample of the notes, disclosures and “I am not responsible” text in many inspection reports.

Some reports add definitions of the terms they use in the report

The following definitions of comment descriptions represent this inspection report.

• Inspected: The item was visually observed and appears to be functioning as intended.
• Not Inspected: The item was not inspected (reason for non-inspection should be noted)
• Not Present: The item was not found or is not present.
• Action Item: The item is not functioning as intended or needs repair or further evaluation.

How does the final report detail the inspection

The home inspection process will create a report that should have a long list of items they noted on the visual inspection of the property. The home inspection checklist is very detailed.

Here is a list of how many inspection reports document the major repairs, necessary repairs, physical structure of the house and specialty inspections needed.

• Item XX The instant hot water dispenser located in the cabinet below the kitchen sink did not produce hot water at the time of testing. We recommend inquiry of the seller(s) for possible additional information, and referral with a licensed plumber if further additional inspections or future repairs are necessary.
• Item XX The air conditioning system can result in damage to the compressor as the oil in the unit may not properly lubricate the moving parts with ongoing maintenance. We recommend inquiry of the seller(s) for a performance history, and verification of proper operation with the return of warmer weather.
• Item XX We observed a small puddle of standing water in the crawl space area located below the kitchen, however were unable to determine its source. We recommend inquiry of the seller(s) and referral with a licensed structural pest/ wood destroying organism control contractor for possible additional information. Adequate ventilation is needed. If further evaluation is desired, we recommend referral for additional inspections with a qualified drainage specialist.
• Item XX Structural components anchor bolts are in place as would be typical for the age of the structure; however the type, size and/or spacing of the bolts do not meet current standards. Foundation anchor bolts are fasteners that connect the wood framing to the concrete foundation, and limit the ability of the framing to move independently of the foundation in the event of seismic activity. If more information, further evaluation and/or upgrading is desired, we recommend referral with a qualified seismic retrofit specialist and/or structural engineer.

The final written report issue

The big issue with a home inspection is the inspectors look to having other specialist, licensed, certified experts do additional inspections, test and work. The above examples:

• we recommend referral with a qualified seismic retrofit specialist and or structural engineer
• We recommend referral for additional inspections with a qualified drainage specialist.
• referral with a licensed plumber

Additional inspections are a hallmark of how most home inspectors operate. They are not necessarily specialists on any one aspect of home construction. Therefore they refer to other experts.

How to find a professional home inspector?

Start by asking for recommendations from friends and colleagues, and search the databases of professional associations, such as the American Society of Home Inspectors and the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors. Such organizations usually require members to pass an exam, honor a code of ethics and complete continuing education. Most real estate agents have relationships with certified home inspectors and can recommend one they trust.

An experienced home inspector does a visual assessment of a house’s physical structure and mechanical systems, also the inspection includes the roof, ceilings, walls, floors, windows, doors and much more. The home buyer wants to find a home inspector who can do all these things. The home sale depends on the inspector to find deal breaker issues or determine if home’s systems function properly.

Next steps after a home inspection

When the inspections showed only minor or anticipated issues the home purchase process can continue as planned. It’s possible you can give the sellers, or their Realtors, the details on the minor problems to be corrected.

Addressing serious issues found in the home inspection

If the inspector finds unsafe structures you need to decide what to do next. In California the realtor association has a form for request for repairs. It has a home buyer’s request for repairs.

The repair request has two main options.

1. The buyer requests that the seller, prior to final verification of condition (also known as final walk though) repair or take the other specified actions for each item listed below…
2. The buyer requests that the seller credit the buyer with a dollar amount at the close of escrow.

Naturally there is a seller’s response to the buyer’s request. This is the point where many home deals fall apart. The buyer will have to find a new property and seller will have to put the property back on the market at fair market value.

What happens if inspection contingency expires?

If the inspection contingency in a real estate contract expires, the buyer typically loses the opportunity to conduct further inspections or negotiate repairs with the seller. This means they are committed to purchasing the property in its current condition. If significant issues are discovered later, the buyer may have limited recourse. It’s crucial for buyers to complete inspections and negotiate any necessary repairs or credits before the contingency expires to protect their interests in the transaction.

This is where a professional real estate agent is on top of the timeline within a home buying transaction. I put strong safe measures in place to make sure the client is notified when the contingency expires.

Another way to use a home inspection is a home improvement guide

Inspection services can offer valuable insight before buying any home. And they can help you decide what to do when your new house closes escrow. Your inspection report can guide you in identifying potential repairs. The report says the air conditioner system is 15 years old and has an ineffective blowing machine and you need to start thinking about replacing it within a couple of years. The home warranties for your inspection can provide a lot of guidance on how much protection you should purchase. Certain warranty options allow you to pick the system to keep. You should be examining the vulnerable areas of your house so that you can do preventative maintenance.

When the real estate market is a strong seller’s market, this a very good use of the home inspection. The home buyer can price in the repairs and check if the purchase price is still a good value. And if it is an acceptable transaction, they can use the report to make a to-do list.

How to begin looking for a home can create problems. Each person has their own priority of what is important. For some it is where to buy a home in Sacramento or in Placer County. Others, it is the must haves of the house the wants, needs and must have list. Coffee Real Estate works with home buyers to find the right home for them. Let’s begin the process today.