If you are looking to sell your home, then a home inspection is a great way to ensure that you receive the maximum value for your home and get the asking price that you are seeking. Take into consideration that many home buyers will not be willing to take on the repairs of your home in its deteriorated state unless you drop the asking price. As the seller, this should motivate you to get the repairs done before the house is put on the market.
When a home inspection is carried out, the experienced inspector will give you a detailed report of the current condition of the home, foundations, retaining walls, roofing condition, insulation and all electrical and air conditioning systems. These are just a few of the components that will be checked for safety and functionality. Having this inspection report done will allow you, as the seller, to either decide to get the builders in and go ahead with the repairs or reassess the asking price and drop it. This will allow the prospective buyers to decide if they want to have the repairs done themselves.
All in all, a home inspection service is needed to give an accurate account of what exactly is needing repair. A home inspection service will also sort out the life expectancy of other smaller issues that have been highlighted in the report. It is wise and it would be the right thing to do to get the repairs done and have the home in perfect condition. This would allow the bidding to start on your home. You do not want to be getting cut short and have to reduce the asking price down to issues that you can fix to ensure that your home gets sold without any snags.
Recent trends show that Orlando in Florida is quickly becoming a very popular city to relocate. Many people travel there for vacation from all parts of the world, as well as, to escape the colder climates from where they come from. It can be agreed than that property investment is at an all-time high and only looks to increase in Central Florida considering the previous trends.
When the bank foreclosures, and the economy was struggling the real estate market suffered severely, but the market has been picking up a little over the recent years, and now many high quality properties can be picked up at very generous pricing.
When one is looking to purchase a home, it is the biggest single investment that can be made; this means that the decision on what property they are looking to buy is the right one, and not the biggest, costly mistake they ever make. It is essential that any potential property be professionally checked for damage by its previous occupants, and checked for any signs of aging due to when it was built.
Today, there are many homes sold ‘AS-IS,’ in some cases the sellers are not willing to cover any repair costs. It is basically, what is seen is what one gets, and this includes the repairs to any damages or replacements that are need done. This is why it is highly important for any buyer to get an experienced home inspector to carry out a professional home inspection reporting on any potential repairs. In addition, get an accurate evaluation on any future replacement or repair costs.
In most cases, the buyer has the right to walk away if the repair costs are too high; however, this is subject to the sales contract in place though.
If the potential home has small defects left undetected, then these small issues can soon amount into major issues costing the new homeowner thousands of dollars in repairs. That is why more people need to know the benefits of having a home inspection on their property, ensuring that it really is a dream home worth relocating to, instead of a home of nightmares.
Home inspectors consider and assess many aspects of a home, in order to give a professional and accurate report on the home for sale. The report includes what needs fixed internally and externally in the structure. One of the more important factors, (although they are all important) is the foundation of the building.
Today is a great opportunity to clear things up and provide an explanation on foundation inspections.
It is essential, as well as, required by law that any building structure must have a solid and sound foundation, as listed in the official regulations. The reason for this is it must support the weight of whatever is built on top of it. If the foundation is not built correctly, then whatever structure built on top of it will likely fall to the ground, or start to crack, due to an unstable and unsafe foundation.
In all cases, it’s very important to have a professional, qualified home inspector evaluate the house or investment property. Yes, you might be “in the know” of construction and spotting repairs, but it’s smart to have a trained professional lend expertise on what he/she finds wrong in the house.
A home inspector review includes the following:
Ensuring the floor is smooth and level. If they are not level, this could indicate and/or point to possible foundation issues under the flooring
Walls will be checked for structural cracks.
The surrounding area above doorways is checked for cracks and crevices.
All windows, surrounding areas, electric wiring, HVAC system, and more (read a full list of inspection items, here)
It’s important to recognize that serious foundation issues are often caused due to the soil settlement. This does potentially have the capacity to pull apart your home and leave it all askew and unsafe.
If the Home inspector has determined the foundation unstable, then the next step is to contact a qualified, professional contractor to assess the damage and decide if the foundation can be fixed without knocking down the structure.
It’s the responsibility of the home inspection to point out structural and system faults in a home, so whether you’re buying, or selling, it is very important to seek out the services of a professional home inspection company.
A professional visual home/commercial inspection includes review of the full property site. The building’s exterior is closely evaluated, the roof will undergo a thorough inspection, with chimney, attic, and crawlspaces all checked. A full inspection of the current heating and plumbing system that is in place and their functioning within the property in question.
Professional companies will specialize and understand the importance of having access to crawlspaces in order for them to correctly evaluate the condition of the foundation and look at the structural issue within the crawl space. It’s also a great opportunity to find any plumbing or electrical issues located within the crawl space.
An experienced company will disclose if there is to be any additional construction to the building under inspection and verify if it has been built under the correct construction and safety codes that apply. All built-in appliances within the home will be tested to ensure they are not malfunctioning and working correctly, as well as, energy and safety tests performed, the results and advice from those tests will be clearly explained.
If the home you are looking to buy, or perhaps sell was built prior to 1960, then our extensive report will answer the very important seven seismic disclosure questions, these are questions that the seller must provide the answers to for the potential buyer.
It’s important to know that a home inspection does not grade a home on worn down carpets or torn wall paper. Essentially, the inspector is looking for serious structural issues that if left in its current condition would be a hazard to the occupant’s life, and current on all health and safety codes in place. All areas will be checked for neglected maintenance and accurate repair cost will be reported. It is smart to have a home or commercial building properly evaluated before buying or selling.
There is no need to elaborate on just how important and crucial it is to have your potential home checked over by an experienced home inspection company. When the time comes for you to go and view your selected property it is a wise idea to have a ready prepared checklist to take with you. Below is a list with a few pointers on just what you should be looking to include on your own personal checklist.
Roof Condition
Arguably, one of the most important factors that should be high on the list to check is the roof. The roof should show no signs of sagging from end-to-end, but in some cases, the roof can be a victim of neglect. Keep your eyes open for water puddles on flat roofs. The existence of water puddles could mean incorrect drainage is not allowing the puddles to run into the gutter, as they should. Where and if possible, ask for a full history of previous repairs, and if any repairs has been made to the roof.
Wiring Hazards
The condition of the electrical wiring throughout the home must be checked, be on the lookout for any frayed wiring or live exposed wiring. Note: it is best to take an experienced inspector with you, in regards to making sure your safety is not at risk. All electrical outlets must be checked and not overlooked, keep an eye out for breaker boxes, which by law needs correct labeling.
Windows/Doors correctly functioning
You should be checking that all doors and windows work properly. Check all door locks to make certain they work to lock, safely securing the home. The windows need to be free from cracks or broken glass, and check it they open and lock.
Pests
Make sure your home is free from termites, wood boring insects, and carpenter beetles. These pests do a good job of destroying the wood within a structure. Remember to ask for report history on any pest inspection that has been performed.
There are many important factors that need to be checked and that is why it’s important that before you buy any home, you hire the services of a professional home inspection company.
