DEAR TIM: My husband and I are getting ready to purchase an
existing home. We don't want to buy one with lots of defects. Can we inspect the
house ourselves or is it necessary to have the house inspected by a
professional? If so, how do you locate a good house inspector? What types of
things should we be looking for as we walk through the house? Sally M., Bedford,
IN
DEAR SALLY: Many years ago I used to do home inspections for
buyers before there were inspectors. The buyers I worked with felt that a
seasoned builder knew what to look for in a house, and how to spot small
problems before they became big problems. Within the past 15 years, the home
inspection industry has become big business. Just about every home buyer in my
town requests an inspection from a full-time home inspector. Not only is it a
good idea for existing homes, home inspections are a swell idea for new homes
too.
I doubt that you can do a thorough home inspection. A knowledgeable home
inspector takes years to train. The best inspectors have lots of field
experience, have passed written examinations, are fully insured and take ongoing
continuing education. When you have forged the initial contract with a seller,
be sure to use the absolute best inspector you can find. Ask the inspector to
provide you with a certificate of insurance that indicates he/she has
professional liability or errors and omissions coverage. Be sure that the policy
is current and that there is enough coverage to pay for a mistake(s).
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Why spend $250-400 on a professional
inspector to tell you the house has too many flaws and it is time to start
looking at different houses? Once a house passes my checklist,
THEN you can call the professional inspector and let him really
go over it with a fine-toothed comb.
Click
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An expert home inspection can save you hundreds if not thousands of
dollars. A competent inspector will spot problems that may cause you to rethink
your purchasing decision. Sometimes it is better to walk away from a problem
house rather than try to spend years of hard earned dollars fixing problems.
Buyers are often blinded by dreams that obscure blatant defects and flaws.
Professional inspectors have no emotional ties to the transaction and are there
to find flaws.
You can look and locate obvious defects as you walk through a house for the
first time. If you discover enough problems, you may choose not to make an
initial offer on a particular piece of property.
I suggest you begin by looking for obvious structural problems. These can be
cracked foundations, slanted floors, bowed or bent beams, doors and windows that
don't fit uniformly within a frame, cracks in brickwork and stucco, severely
cracked concrete floors and slabs, etc. Structural problems tend to be the most
expensive problems to repair. Houses with structural problems can also be harder
to sell in the future. The repairs often leave scars. A future buyer will see a
repair attempt and possibly wonder if the problem has really been rectified. You
may suffer financially if this happens.
 |
| I don't know about you, but I can clearly see a patched crack in this brickwork. Structural defects are very hard to disguise, but rest assured people try to do it all of the time. |
Moisture problems are sometimes easy to
spot. Look for stained ceilings, walls, interior foundations, basement floors,
exterior siding, damp crawlspaces and moisture around plumbing water and drain
lines. Hunt for efflorescence salts. These fluffy gray-white powdery deposits
can be found along cracks in basement floors and walls and in masonry work. They
are usually a sure sign of water infiltration or slow seepage. Consider a visit
to the closest firehouse. If the fire department has made visits to pump water
out of the house for any reason, it should show in the public record of their
run activity.
Inspect the exterior for drainage problems. I prefer to see a minimum of four
to six inches of foundation projecting above the soil around the entire house.
Soil should slope at least 6 inches within the first ten feet of run away from
the foundation. Look for raised planting beds that can trap water against a
house.
When you finally decide to hire an inspector, beware of slick sales pitches
and testimonials. Some associations require that an inspector simply send in an
application and a small fee to become certified. You want an inspector that
belongs to an association that requires experience, written examinations and
continuing education. Don't settle for less!
Author's Notes:
At the time this column was written, the
American Society of Home
Inspectors (ASHI) had the toughest set of requirements for membership
of all of the inspection associations. Many professional engineers who do home
inspections are ASHI members.
States that currently require home inspectors to be licensed are: Texas,
North and South Carolina, Wisconsin, New Jersey and Oregon.
Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee and Nevada require a form of registration or
certification.
Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Louisiana have
legislation pending that will probably result in some form of licensing or
certification. (These facts were published in the November, 1998 issue of
Builder magazine.)
