Do You A Home Inspection?
If had a dollar for every time that I have been asked the question, “do you need a home inspection” when buying a home I probably wouldn’t need this business. Lol, All jokes aside it is a question that comes up often in South Florida and every other market. Right now the market has been on fire with more demand than the supply of homes available for sale. This has driven the competition to get a contract accepted.
When we schedule a home inspection we are celebrating the win with the clients because we understand how challenging it has been for buyers, especially those that are financed. The cash buyers from out of town and locally have been picking up the properties left and right and waiving contingencies such as the appraisal or home inspection.
With that being said, back to the question; “do you need a home inspection?” My answer will always be yes you do need a home inspection. There is no such thing as a perfect home and the things a home inspector is looking for are not visible to the untrained eye. Here are some examples of why you need a home inspection and then I’ll let you decide how you move forward.
Do you need a home inspection?
Well, let’s see these examples below.
Example #1:
Non-Inspector: There are no leaks under the sinks and everything drains as expected and the water heater works.
Inspector: Notices the same as the non-inspector but also researched and found that the kitchen was moved from its original location during the build of the home and now the new plumbing was not vented correctly and releases toxic gases back into the home.
Example #2:
Non-Inspector: Notices all the lights work in the home and the appliances are powered.
Inspector: Notices the same but finds that the breakers for the range and ac unit are oversized and if there is an issue the power will not cut off when it should creating a fire hazard.
Example #3
Non-Inspector: Doesn’t see any leaks present on the ceiling so the roof seems to be working as it should.
Inspector: Finds that the caulking is deteriorating in some of the transitions on the roof which keep water from causing interior damage. Water comes in at the transitions and sidewalls, I’ve yet to see a home that water comes through the middle of the roof that is not missing material.
Example #4
Non-Inspector: let’s go back to electrical. Everything is working as we mentioned before.
Inspector: Often found in homes building pre-1980s is cloth wiring, the prior owners replace the panels and everything looks good but the inspector finds the points in the attic where the new panel ties back into the cloth wiring that is still hot. The electrical systems works but is ungrounded and the old wiring is a fire hazard.
I can give a ton of additional examples on why you should get a home inspection even if everything looks great. You just don’t know what you don’t know if you are not trained to see it.
So after reading those 4 examples, how do you feel about skipping the home inspection? Feel free to let me know in the comments.
Check out this video where a couple describes their experience in KY when they skipped the inspection.
If you have additional questions and want to get in contact with GGR Home Inspections please send us a note, text, or call.
I really appreciate you talking about all of the different things that a home inspector can find when handling a house. I can bet that this is something that we would need for our upcoming house-hunting project so we don’t end up uncovering expensive issues down the line. I’ll look around for a home inspector I can hire for this as soon as possible so we’re ready to invest.