Home inspections are an option that can facilitate the marketing of a property. However, in California Home buyers have the right to order their
New Orleans, LA., 10/23/2005 Following Hurricane Katrina. Many of the homes were like this one with mold damage to the ceiling. Andrea Booher/FEMA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
When you are ordering an inspection, you should expect the following items to be addressed during your inspection of a Residential property:
1) Roof Inspection
Your inspector should inspection the roof for leaks and check for loose shingles or tiles that could be potential for future problems. The inspector should also inspect the gutters to make sure they have been routinely cleaned and will not be a source of problems during the Winter and Raining Seasons. Replacing a Roof is a big ticket item and depending on the size, age and shingle types you could be looking at several thousand dollars to replace a roof. If the supporting plywood or framing have to be replaced the cost would run higher.
2) Foundation
Your inspector should walk around the property to make sure there are no cracks in the foundation. Even in homes without basement, there is a crawl space for your inspector to go underneath the house for a closer look at the foundation. This visit should also help identify any potential pluming or sewer line leaks that could be easily identified.
3) Mold Inspection
Signs of mold damage should be easy to spot with green and blakc spots on the area that have been exposed to water. Removal of Mold requires skilled contractors that are certified in Mold Removal and Disposal since it’s toxic to your heath. The cost coudl also run into thousands depending on the size of the area damaged by mold.
4) Cooling/ Heating
Cooling and Heating systems can easily be tested by your inpsector using the Thermostat. Their findings and recommendation should be clearly marked in their report. It helps for the inspectors to check the heating and cooling vents, but this is not easily accomplished during a routine inspection.
English: Inside view of a building crawl sapce (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
5) Pluming
Your inspector check for Water Pressure and check for the gas line leaks outside and inside the property.
7) Electrical
Your inspector should check ALL of the electrical outlets and also check the Meter to identify any possible electrical shorts.
Most routine home inspections costs $100-$300 dollars depending on the size of your property and the area of the country where you live. Having completed an inspection, specially the 1st time home buyers with an sense of comfort on what they should expect in case the proceed with buying your home. Also, completing an inspections helps protect the seller against future litigation in case buyers claim that the damages would have been material to their purchase decision and the seller had an obligation to disclose such a damage to them.
California CAR Contract requires an extensive Transfer Disclosure Document that identifies ALL the electrical and mechanical items that are included in the sale and the sellers are required to documents the status of such items.
But spending a little money could go a long way to comfort your buyer that you are NOT trying to hide anything and might expedite your transaction. You can also purchase a Home Warranty that covers the repair cost of the appliances that are included in the Sale.
