Why Inspect A Property Yourself Before Hiring A Certified Home Inspector

There are many good reasons to obtain the services of a certified home inspector to inspect a home you are hoping to buy. The job of an inspector is to not only determine the condition of the house, but also give advice on areas of the home that can be improved upon. Any deficiencies raised by the home inspection can become negotiating points. Having an inspection done can assist to avoid unwanted surprises after you purchase and/or be used to bargain the price down further. But if you would like to make an initial inspection yourself, make sure you have a checklist!

Having a prepared  checklist with you during \before you start your walk-through of the home is a most. The list will help in ensuring your inspection is thorough. A first-rate list may have as many as a hundred items on it. Failure to have a sufficient checklist could result in overlooking certain aspects of the property.

A well constructed list will be organized by areas of the house. Start with the outside. As you walk around the property you should be looking for items like railings that are unsafe, exterior wall cracks, damaged or leaning chimney, and roof damage to name a few. And always take notes. If you observe a loose gutter on the side of the home, make a note of it along with anything else you might notice.

The inside of the house should also be separated into different areas. Things to covered on your list could be electrical, plumbing, basement floors and walls, heating and so on. It is not important that you are not experienced in various building trades. Just pay attention to things that are obviously not what they should be. You can bring these up when you come back to the property for a thorough and professional home inspection.

As part of the offer buyers can place in a condition on obtaining a professional home inspection. This condition not only shields buyers from purchasing a home they are not prepared for, it also gives buyers an opportunity to re-negotiate the price if major deficiencies are found in the inspection. If you choose lower your offer make sure it is reasonable compared to the issues found. If the original selling price already took into account the properties deficiencies you may not be able to reduce your offer by much.

If the home you are interested looks like it may get multiple offers you may need to have a pre-offer home inspection. This can be a concern for some buyers since after spend the money for an inspection they may still not get the home. However, on the other hand, you will know right away if there are any problems with the property and will be able to adjust your offer accordingly. You can then finalize your deal more rapidly if you offer is the one that is accepted.

You do not need to be a building professional to see that a railing is loose or that the roof is in need of repairs. You can weed out a lot of homes from your list that may not be right for you simply by doing your own initial inspection of a home. Walking through a home  with a home inspection checklist will also enable you to look beyond the interior design and base your decision to make an offer or not on solid facts rather than first impressions. Beware not to rely solely on your own inspection but to bring in a professional home inspector who will provide you with a written report on the condition of the property.