It is said to be one of the most expensive, and one of the most important purchases of your lifetime, not your purebred dog, but investing in a home. The thing is with buying a home you do not get a money-back-guarantee, or return policy, like other products.
Once you buy a home and sign the deed, you are on your own and foot the bill of any repairs to keep the property well maintained. It is essential that you know about any potential problems and repairs that need done before officially buying the house.
The best way for you to determine if the home is safe and in proper living conditions is to hire the services of a professional home inspector to survey it. An experienced home inspector will review the house and evaluate it, check all the working and functioning components, how they affect each other, and how much “life” is left in them.
The home inspection evaluation should leave you with a list of repairs that are needing done and highlights areas, which have received repairs in the past. The purpose of a home inspection is to help the buyer understand the true and current condition of the home in question.
A pre-purchase home inspection lasts around 3-4 hours, when done correctly; it might cost anything upwards of $500.00. The cost is dependent on State location, and the home’s square footage. Once the inspection is completed in its entirety, the buyer will be handed a written, detailed report of the essential problems in the home.
An experienced home inspector will not hesitate to answer the difficult questions. One thing to remember is that it’s their job to educate the seller or the homebuyer on the home being sold. A inspection offers peace of mind before the biggest purchase of your life.