Beginner Guide to buying a Home  – Week 8

This step-by-step series will take you through the entire home-buying process — from finding a buyer’s agent to settlement day, and all the details in between. Every first-time buyer will find this information-packed series easy to follow and understand. Make sure to tune in for the next few weeks!

You don’t want any nasty surprises after you move into your new home, right?!  Getting a professional home inspection is one very important step you need to take once you’re under contract.

Your offer included a home inspection contingency. Once your offer is accepted it’s time to schedule your home inspections. Usually this is done as soon as possible after the accepted offer, usually within 2-5 days.  Inspections should be planned during daylight hours and you and/or your partner if you have one, should be present. Feel free to bring someone who’s opinion you value as well.  Once you have the results, you may ask for repairs, renegotiate the price, or even withdraw your offer. 

No home is perfect but at least a professional inspection(s) gives you some guidance on what you can expect. You need to decide what you will accept or are willing to take on if you decide to buy the house.  

If any red flags arise, then you’ll need to decide what is a deal breaker for you or not one.

Here’s a rundown of what to expect:

Inspector Who?

Make sure you hire a reputable and experienced inspector. New York does have licensed inspectors, who work full-time in the field, and are affiliated with a professional organization. If your home has a well and or a septic system, you will need to have those inspected too.  Sometimes an inspection company offers one stop shopping, and you can schedule them all at once.

Items to Check Off

A home inspector will visually inspect the physical condition of the home and its major systems. A standard checklist usually includes the heating system; cooling system; electrical system; appliances — kitchen/bath/laundry; plumbing; chimney; framing/structure; foundation/basement; drainage; roofing; attic, garage, etc.

What to Expect

Keep in mind that inspectors look for deficiencies that are in view and won’t pull up carpet or look for any other hidden defects.

You can ask the sellers for permission to remove carpeting or paneling if something seems suspect. Also, if the inspector has serious concerns about a specific element, then you may need to hire an expert – such as a structural engineer, HVAC contractor, or plumber — to give you a more thorough evaluation.

If a home is vacant, make sure the seller has all the utilities turned on during the inspection so the inspector can see how they operate. You don’t want to incur the cost of a second trip out to your home! In colder climates the home may be winterized if it is vacant, and the seller may expect you to pay to commission the systems and then re-winterize. You should decide if you want to take on this additional expense before you make your offer.

Time and Cost

On average, a standard inspection can take 2 to 4 hours depending on the size of the home and can cost $500 or more. Well and septic inspections will of course be additional. Ask to be one of the first or second appointments of the day, so you have a “fresh” inspector who will take time at your home.

Special Services

For an additional fee, some inspectors may include items such as wood destroying insects, and environmental services, such as testing for radon, asbestos, mold, and lead.

A specific license may be required for some of this testing such as asbestos.  A home inspector may point out suspect areas or items and suggest further testing. You may want to bring in an expert if you have any concerns.

Show and Tell

Having an inspection is a great opportunity to gain some first-hand knowledge about the home you are about to purchase. As you accompany the inspector they should identify systems, give you tips on maintaining (e.g. replace air filters on forced air heating and cooling systems), and point out any key items such as the shut offs for gas and water.

It’s a good time to ask questions so you understand your home AND the inspection report you’re about to receive. The inspector may ask you to hold questions until the end so he/she can focus on doing a thorough inspection.

Report Summary

After the inspection, you will receive a signed report that summarizes what was discovered. The report belongs to you as you paid for it, and you are not obligated to show it to anyone.

Take the time to carefully review this report. Most inspection reports have a key. Either an item is marked acceptable, or perhaps a warning is raised (e.g. the outlets in the bathroom are not GFCI – while this is accepted practice now it might not have been when the bathroom was installed/renovated). Or flagged defective.  If nothing is amiss, you can go forward with your purchase.

However, if the inspector discovers some defect, you will need to decide if you are going to ask the seller to address, to give you a credit, or if you are going to let it go. If it is very serious you may even withdraw your offer.

Red Flag Alerts

Some red flag issues are hidden and hard to see at first so make sure your inspector keeps a keen eye on the following:

•Lack of general maintenance.  A home that hasn’t been properly taken care of for many years could have major issues – such as water damage — lurking. That’s when due diligence is especially needed during an inspection.

•Too many issues in a home that isn’t old. Some issues are typical for a home’s age and location and not the sign of poor construction. You may be fine with an older home with good bones that needs updating or renovating but if it is a new home, an abundance of issues may be a red flag in general that there are bigger issues under the covers.

•Do-it-yourself additions or any DIY work that isn’t up to code. If there are DIY projects that look poorly done or may not be up to code, you may want to dig deeper and make sure that permits were used where required and the inspections were done and certificates of completion were issued.

•Termite infestation. You really want to know how bad the infestation is and how much damage has been done.

•Moisture in the basement.  Sometimes this is caused by poor grading around the house or gutters that are not properly extended away from the house. But if the basement smells musty you may want to take a closer look and make sure there is not a serious mold problem. Sometimes addressing the source of the dampness can fix the problem or you may require more extensive remediation!

•Water marks on the ceiling or walls could signal a leaking roof, gutters rusting, or faulty plumbing.  You need to find out if these are old issues that have been resolved or if they are ongoing problems. Your inspector should have some idea. If it is a current or ongoing issue you will want to investigate further to determine the extent of the damage and the potential cost.

•Cracks in the wall and sloping floors. These indicate possible structural and foundation issues, which can be costly depending on the age of the home.

•Toxic materials in homes built before 1970 such as lead paint or asbestos (found in some building materials). Factor in containment and professional replacement costs before you buy!

•Faulty and outdated wiring. This can be a serious fire hazard so inspectors should check for overloaded circuits and proper grounding.  Depending on the type of wiring you may need have an electrician do further investigating.

Take Action

Pay particular attention to the red flags in the report.  Speak to professionals, or have them come review the issue and give you quotes to repair

Understand the scope of what needs to be fixed immediately and the cost of this. Decide what you are willing to fix or not. Decide if it is more than you want to tackle and decide if you are going to negotiate or just withdraw your offer.

For some items, it could be a simple solution. A trip to the hardware store may be all that’s needed. Get a list of those items you want to fix yourself and price it out.

If you want to go ahead with the sale, you’ll need to decide if you want the sellers to fix it themselves or offer as credit. If you have a choice, sometimes it’s smarter to hire your own contractors and supervise repairs.

Before issuing a formal “request to repair,” consider the seller’s incentive to hire the cheapest contractor or to replace appliances with the least expensive brands.

As always, I’ll be right by your side if we decide to embark on this homebuyer’s journey together, so don’t worry too much about home inspections right now—you need to find your home first and go under contract.  I’m just letting you know what to expect along the way, so you feel more confident with each step. 

Stay tuned for next week’s Review Those Condo Docs! Purchasing a condo unit is like you’re buying into a business. You need to determine how stable and financially sound this “business venture” is before taking it on.