Get a Home Inspection

A prospective homebuyer looking for a new home to buy would be advised by their real estate brokers to hire the services of a home inspection company. Normal reactions would be to question the need for these services, while some would totally take no heed and disregard the advice, considering it an unnecessary expense.

Unless the home you are buying has been lived in by your parents or a close relative who knows the home inside and out, getting a professional home inspection service is a definite necessity. The cost of $200 to $300 or more for the services of a home inspector may be well worth it particularly if it can be a means to identify potential problems and issues in the home you are buying.

To assure you that the home you are buying will not create problems and additional costs for you after you have signed the sales deal, you should make your sales offer contingent with the results of the inspection and recommendation by the inspector.

Certified home inspectors can identify flaws and problems in the structure of the house, which you will never know unless you were an occupant of the house for a long time. Some problems may not appear obvious or may look normal to the untrained eye, but could be spotted and highlighted in a home inspection report.

A home inspector could also provide a fresh viewpoint from a third party and could provide an unbiased assessment of the house, which you might overlook in your excitement of closing the deal and changing hands.

The results of the home inspection report would be your basis to require additional repairs for defects found during the inspection, which sellers could acquiesce to close the deal. If the problem is substantial that would put you and your family at risk, you should use the report to withdraw from the deal. On the other hand, a good report would give you the reassurance you need that the home you are buying would be worth the effort.