House Inspection Tips

Monday, November 18, 2019

So you found a house you love. You made an offer on it. It's been accepted. Now what? Now it's time to get an inspection. An inspector is trained to see things that you cannot see with your naked eyes, things like HVAC that's shot, the roof is shoddy, things that will cost you a lot of money down the line. You may pay a few hundred dollars, but it will give you peace of mind and ensure you're not buying a run-down property.

The Bathroom

The bathroom is the first thing you should check. You may have to fix the cracks in the foundation.  If you bought a fixer upper or a house with a lot of potential for renovations, you may want to do the fun stuff. But it is better to focus on the items that are going to determine the health of the house. For instance, what about the HVAC system? Is it in good working condition? Are you having water or mildew issues coming in through the attic? Maybe you need to replace that roof. It's not glamorous, but somebody's got to do it. Some of the tools you may need include a Generac.
Maybe you bought a fixer upper and you thought you were going to do a lot of it yourself. You may be a huge fan and advocate of DIY. But when you get into the contents of a wall with wires and plumbing and things that have a lot of legalities or could kill you, that's when you need to call the professionals. A contractor is necessary for those things.

Finding a Contractor

How do you find a good contractor? Get good references. Make sure that if you're going to have them do some work, it's all spelled out in the contract with an itemized list of what they're going to do and when you'll give financial disbursements. Never pay a contractor upfront for work that hasn't been done.

Budget

For a renovation budget, you really don’t need to have one. It is not easy to establish your renovation budget, as every project goes over the estimate and takes longer.

Inspecting a House For Purchase

What can sour the deal of your new house? If you ever saw water damage, you can repair that quickly. However, anything wrong with the foundation is a big red flag because if the foundation is broken, the whole house is broken. It is foundation that holds up the house. The only two things that would make you back out of a deal would be the shoddy electrical or real plumbing issues. Everything else can be fixed.  

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