The Importance of Requesting a Home Inspection Before Buying

Ok. So you've found the house of your dreams and you're ready to make an offer, haggle a bit on price perhaps, then finalise the deal, and move in. But what if your new home has problems you are unaware of? What if it needs a level of repair and maintenance which is not apparent at a normal viewing.

A home inspection can warn you of trouble spots that you may be unaware of before you commit yourself to a purchase. Most home buyers don't possess a comprehensive knowledge of house building, electrics and plumbing, for example, that would enable them to identify hidden problems in a house. That's why it is imperative to have a professional home inspection made before proceeding with your purchase.

Sometimes, buyers confuse a home inspection with a pest inspection. Although the pest inspection report is required by many lenders before they will lend you money to buy a home, there are many other issues you should be clear on before you close the deal. A home inspector has the necessary experience and expertise to locate any potential problems in your intended new home

A home inspection generally includes the required pest inspection, so it's not necessary to hire two separate inspectors. The home inspector will also look for other factors that could affect the structure of the home. These could include drainage, improper building materials and techniques, roof leaks and so on.

The home inspector will also look for possible safety issues. He will test for carbon monoxide and problems that could potentially cause gas leakage in the future. Electrical systems will be checked for operational integrity and potential fire hazards.

The inspector will also check the plumbing to make sure it works properly, test the heating and cooling systems, and If there is a private well or septic system, those will also be inspected for proper capacity and functionality.

It is important to know about problems that might exist before you consider buying a house. Problems that are not obvious could turn into major issues, or even cause serious damage to your home sometime in the future. Safety issues might not manifest themselves until someone has been hurt or had a close call. Having knowledge of these things ahead of time gives you the opportunity to resolve them before buying.

You can make your purchase offer conditional on the property passing a home inspection. Some real estate agents will arrange this automatically, but not all. It gives you some leverage in the event of the inspection report revealing remedial work that needs to be carried out so that you can negotiate a fairer price with the seller, or withdraw altogether.

Arranging a home inspection will help you avoid unwittingly buying a home that needs a lot of work done on it, and which could involve you in considerable additional expense. But even if you decide to proceed with a purchase on a home needing a lot of work, you will at least have advance knowledge of the repairs and renovations needed, and be able to prioritise the work to be done.