The first step in the home evaluation process is examining the bigger picture. The buyer needs to start by observing the neighborhood the house is located in.
Are there other houses of similar construction and age? Have there been considerable modifications to the building? If yes, is the craftsmanship good?
Once satisfied with the answers, the main inspection should begin. It is important to take all the sections of the house into consideration. This can best be done by hiring a reputed home inspection company.
Reputable providers take a very organized approach towards assessment. Their home inspection checklist is divided into several categories that cover the interior and exterior of the house.
Who Pays for a Residential Evaluation?
The short answer is—it depends. The home buyer sometimes pays for it as a safety measure. Increasingly, the sellers pays for it before putting the home on the market as the report is a strong selling point.
Regardless, it is always a good idea. Buying a home is a large financial investment for the buyer.
It is also a good way for the seller to document that he sold the home in good faith in the event that some flaw presents itself in the future. It is a win-win for both parties.
Here is an overview of the method professional home inspectors use when analyzing a house.
Exterior Home Inspection
The evaluation begins from the front exterior of the house and is completed once the examiner has worked his/her way around the structure.
The inspector makes a note of the chimneys, roof, the fascia, and gutters.
Siding (wood, brick veneer, vinyl, or aluminum siding) is the next in line with the special evaluation of the doors and windows.
An assessment of the exterior paint or siding is made to check the presence of peeling or bubbling. Also, all external fixtures such as rain gutters and ornamental trim are checked for general condition.
Interior Examination
The examiner starts from the basement (to check for any water damage) and gradually covers every single level of the house.
Interior inspection normally begins by analyzing the floors, walls, and other fixtures. Each room is carefully assessed.
Apart from this, the utility rooms undergo thorough assessment. Home inspection companies make sure they scan everything including the furnaces, electrical panels, and hot water heaters.
Once done, assessment of the plumbing system starts with a check for leaks around the pipes and fixtures. Next, both hot and cold water pressures are tested by turning multiple faucets on.
Inside the bathrooms, the areas around the bathtub and shower are inspected for any damage.
A home inspection is intended to offer a system to identify some of the major deficiencies or flaws in the components of a house, to prospective buyers.
It has not been created to facilitate recognition of all problems, but to give a fair idea of the general condition of the house. The buyer must also keep in mind that if an assessment reveals a problem, it should not always deter him/her from investing in that property.
More than anything else, an inspection helps in determining the house’s real value and stops the investor from experiencing unwanted repairs.
This post is created by Inspect-it 1st, a Premier Property Inspection Franchise based in Ohio. It is amongst the renowned home inspection companies dedicated to servicing buyers, sellers, real estate agents, and others with professional property inspection services.
A home inspection is intended to offer a system to identify some of the major deficiencies or flaws in the components of a house, to prospective buyers.
