There are a couple of reasons why you might seek a home inspection. As a home buyer, you’ll want to assess the condition of your preferred property before you buy so you know exactly what you’re getting into. If a property is in good shape, you can buy without qualms. If there are significant problems, you can negotiate for fixes or a reduced price, or alternatively, seek another home for purchase.
As a seller, you may want to conduct a home inspection before a sale as a preparatory measure, to give you the chance to make necessary fixes, or at least prepare for disclosures, before you list your home for sale. You might also have to allow for a home inspection any time you plan to refinance your mortgage, as a current valuation will likely be necessary.
What exactly happens during a home inspection? What do our qualified home inspectors do, and what will you get out of the process? Our trained and experienced professional inspectors perform a comprehensive assessment to determine whether a house is in ship shape or if there are problems that need to be addressed. Here’s what you can expect to happen when you hire our home inspectors.
Interior and Exterior
A home inspection will cover your house from top to bottom, inside and out, to ensure that your home is safe, stable, and in good condition. We begin by examining visible components, including floors, ceiling, and walls, as well as windows, doors, and other entryways.
Our thorough and meticulous inspectors will check the brick, siding, or stucco on your exterior, as well as finishes on the interior portions of the home, in search of cracks or misalignment that could signal dangers like instability. Sinks and fireplaces will be checked, along with smoke detectors and other safety items in the home. We will examine your structure from the roof to the foundations in search of problems that could impede escrow or even pose a danger to inhabitants.
Roof and Attic
Many homeowners expect a roof to last 20 years or more, but this is one area where annual inspections and maintenance are often neglected. As a result, we pay special attention to the roof, checking shingles, flashing, vents, chimneys, gutters, downspouts, skylights, and more for damage or deterioration that could lead to leaks or other issues inside the home. We also examine the attic in search of potential structural or functional issues, checking rafters, joists, ventilation, insulation, and more.
Plumbing and Electrical
Once the visible components of the home have been thoroughly inspected, we move on to the elements that make up the guts of your home, so to speak, including plumbing and electrical systems. Our qualified home inspectors examine and test plumbing fixtures (toilets, sinks, and showers) and drainage to make sure everything is working, as well as test water pressure. Electrical switches and outlets will be tested and service panels, circuits, visible wiring and junctions, grounding systems, and more will be examined to ensure that no hazards exist.
HVAC
In addition to plumbing and electrical systems, we also check the HVAC system, examining both heating and cooling components. This could include inspection of a furnace or boiler, an air conditioning unit, ductwork, and more, as well as a performance test to ensure that the system is working as it should and that there are no dangers.
Extras
We are pleased to offer a host of additional inspection services and tests, although some may entail an extra fee. If your home features a swimming pool, for example, it will need to be examined, but since not every home has this feature, it is not included in the standard home inspection checklist.
We can also check existing sprinkler systems, detached garages or other outbuildings, private wells or sewage systems, and more. We can conduct testing for wood destroying insects (like termites) at your request or the request of the hiring party (if hired by a lender as part of the escrow process). Not every client will require such testing, but when you need it, we’re happy to go above and beyond to ensure that every inch of your property is thoroughly inspected.
Following a home inspection, we will provide a same-day report detailing what our home inspector discovered, including both notes and photos. If everything is in good shape, your home purchase, sale, or refinancing can move forward. If problems exist, the current homeowner may either have to fix them or at least disclose them to a buyer before a sale can go through.