A Must When Buying Foreclosure Homes
April 6th, 2009
Most housing experts agree that now is the right time to buy a house when the market is flooded with cheap foreclosure properties. However, they also caution potential homebuyers of the pitfalls in buying foreclosed homes.
That is why it is recommended that potential homebuyers should hire the services of professionals who will conduct house inspection on foreclosed properties before they close a deal.
The following are some factors that homebuyers should consider when hiring house inspection professionals.
- Hiring qualified home inspectors. Time and again experts have emphasized the importance of hiring services of house inspection professionals who can identify and recognize home defects and damages that are not usually visible to typical homebuyers. Often, homebuyers are too excited about the whole deal that they tend to ignore some things that may dampen or hinder the prospect of a sale.
- Accompany the house inspection professional. During the day of the home inspection, make sure that you accompany the house inspection professional to give you also the chance to learn about your new home.
- Use defects identified in home inspection report to negotiate for a lower selling price for the property.
- Keep an open mind. Remember that the scope of house inspection services is limited on visual investigation only. Home inspection companies are not allowed to destroy some areas of the house in the course of their inspection. However, if home inspectors think that it would be to your advantage that destructive investigation should be done, you must get the approval of the seller first before doing any damage.
- Hire a home inspection company that issue a full home inspection report.
Here is a home inspection checklist of some defects that you should be aware of to guide you through the house inspection process:
- Ageing roof structure. A roof that needs resurfacing may be negotiated with the seller.
- Defective windows. This defect can cost hundreds of dollars to repair and therefore should be brought immediately to the seller’s attention.
- Basement flooding. Determine if the basement has been flooded by checking for signs such as mildew, odor of dampness, cupping and damaged floors and water stains on walls.
- Irregularities in exterior wall framing, interior framing and roof framing such as bulges and deflections.
- Lastly, be careful of houses that have structural renovations and additions and electrical and plumbing works that were not done by professionals.
