It’s easy to get carried away by the excitement of buying a home. Once your offer on your dream house is accepted, you’ll probably be anxious to move in. However, before you make a significant financial commitment, it’s best to know exactly what you’re buying. This is where a home inspector comes in. When you hire a home inspector, you get a professional, in-depth examination of the property’s structures and systems. However, many buyers make mistakes during the inspection process that cost them time and money and lead to unnecessary stress. To help you avoid some basic errors that could prove to be costly, Blue Ribbon Property Inspections has put together a list of the most common mistakes people make when getting a home inspection.
Not Vetting the Home Inspector Many homebuyers trust the real estate professional helping them to provide their inspector or an online reputation implicitly. Although many good realtors have an excellent working knowledge of the home inspectors they work with, it’s always reasonable to interview or ask for a resume of the inspector they recommend.
Not Attending the Inspection Skipping the inspection forgoes the chance to see issues in person, which the inspector may want to show you. Although a decent home inspection should convey in writing any material defects with pictures of significant problems, there is no replacement for seeing the problem with your own eyes. Being on-site gives you the chance to ask questions and discuss the issues raised by the field survey with the inspector. The inspection also gives you an opportunity, typically two-plus hours, to review the home thoroughly and ask any questions you have to the inspector. The rule “Some is better than none” applies in this case. Making it to the final review at the end of the inspection is much more beneficial than skipping the whole thing altogether.
Not Reading the Entire Report Although home inspection reports can be long and tedious at times, reading the whole report is the only way to get the full scope of the home’s condition. The verbal review at the end of the field survey is not a suitable replacement for reading the report. The oral synapsis and written report work together to convey all material defects to the client and highlight the most significant issues. There are usually other problems that may be considered “minor” compared to the primary deficiencies highlighted in the review that went unstated. Although they may be less problematic, they can still be important to you, and you may want them addressed. We highly encourage you to read the entire report before you release contingencies.
Not Getting the Recommended Follow-up Inspections To save money, some homebuyers ignore the recommendations of their inspector to have specific systems and components further evaluated by an expert when major material defects are present. Although it may save some money on the initial examination, it’s likely to cost the homebuyer thousands of dollars in future repairs, especially when dealing with water damage and foundation issues. If possible, always arrange for the further evaluations recommended by the inspector in their report.
Waiting to Get the Home Inspection Homebuyers typically have a short period to examine the property before releasing contingencies. Although seven to ten days seems like a long time to get a home inspection done, one may not have the time to do follow-up inspections the inspector recommends if they wait until the end of the contingency period. That’s why we encourage the agents that use our services to contact us as soon as they enter escrow so we can schedule the home inspection ASAP.
To avoid more mistakes like these, reach out to the experts at Blue Ribbon Property Inspections. As one of Southern California’s leading inspection companies, we believe when experience meets education, professionalism is made. Our inspection team strives to bring the highest level of professionalism to every inspection we perform. We pride ourselves on providing thorough inspections coupled with easily understood inspection reports, making the information useful and readily accessible using our online reporting platform. Allow our expertise to help you make the right buying decision. We offer our home and property inspection services to clients across Glendora, Pasadena, South Pasadena, Los Angeles, Azusa, Covina, West Covina, Monrovia, San Dimas, La Cañada Flintridge, La Verne, Diamond Bar, El Monte, Duarte, Walnut, City of Industry, Rosemead, Alhambra, Whittier, Downey, Cerritos, Long Beach, Glendale, Burbank, Beverly Hills, and the surrounding areas. For a complete list of our services, please click here. If you have any questions about home and property inspections, we’d love to hear from you. Please contact us here.