Whoa! Home Inspector - Our Big Mistake

home buying | mortgage | refinance

Meg and Jim were buying a house and didn't hire a home inspector. They decided to cut corners in order to save money.

**Super Kate Tip: Leverage your consumer rights.
Let a Law Firm Remove your Negative Items from your Credit Report!**

I'm sure you've felt this way before too. But unless you can imagine spending your weekends in home repair, a few hundred dollars for an inspection could be the best decision you make.

In the following article, you will discover how "prevention is better than cure" as the classical scholar Erasmus advised.

Hire A Licensed Home Inspector -- Avoid This Big Mistake When Buying A House

Do you know why home inspection and buying a house go hand in hand?

Just the other day I overheard a story about first time home buyers.

They did not heed the advice of their Realtor to hire a certified home inspector.

They thought they could save a few hundred dollars normally charged by a home inspector. Money was scarce to begin with. So it was a natural reaction to request that her dad take the place of a licensed home inspector.

After all thirty years of climbing ladders had taught him most everything about houses.

For the sake of privacy, let's refer to the home buyers as Meg and Jim. As I was saying, Jim and Meg recently bought a house and thought they could save some money by asking Meg's dad to look the house over before they closed on the purchase of their new home.

Meg's dad worked in construction all his life. He knew all anyone needs to know about houses, Meg and Jim assumed. He would certainly be able to spot any trouble spots.

So before giving his opinion that the house was in great shape, her father completed his inspection. He had inspected a pretty sturdy house, Jim's father-in-law reported.

But her Dad's lack of objectivity cost them. Sure, Jim and Meg saved the price of hiring a professional home inspector but it was insignificant compared to what followed, repairing the electrical panel and replacing electrical wiring.

Here is a mistake home buyers often make.

The terminology is strange and they skip over the importance of home inspection.

A lot of people wonder if they pay for an appraisal why would they also need to hire a home inspector. The answer is simple really.

According to Barron's Dictionary Of Real Estate Terms a house appraisal is an estimate or opinion of the value of a property. Appraisers can use 3 methods to estimate the value of real estate, the cost approach, the income approach, and the market comparison approach.

When buying a house for your personal residence, an appraiser normally uses a market comparison by comparing the subject house with other homes in the area.

In other words, a licensed real estate appraiser determines if the price you are paying for your new home falls with the market value of other homes in the area. The real estate appraisal does not normally look in depth at plumbing, heating or electrical systems for example.

In contrast, the job of a home inspector is to zero in on safety and soundness aspects of your new home. A home inspection will determine if the structure, construction, and mechanical systems are safe as well as working correctly. In addition, your professional home inspector will point out immediate and future repairs with the associated estimate of cost.

Here is where real estate agents can help a lot.

Take advantage of their expertise. They have been trained how to write an offer in good faith that protects you if it turns out the home needs repairs.

When you find a house you are serious about buying, request that your real estate agent show you how to write up the offer subject to inspection. That way there is an acceptable exit if a home inspector unveils any major problems.

You can also ask your real estate agent how to accommodate a price adjustment if necessary. An inspection clause in your offer can also specify that the seller fix any repairs before close.

Don't end up like Jim and Meg. Because Dad wasn't equipped to properly inspect the house and wasn't systematic in his approach, he missed a problem with the electrical panel which they eventually had to replace. They saved on the inspection but paid more than $2,000 for a new electrical panel and updated wiring.

If you enjoyed this article about the home inspector report, you will also like Ten Home Buyer Questions To Avoid Buying A Money Pit.

Look! Houses For Sale - Listed By Real Estate Agents

Looking for a home inspector? Check out our new Home Inspector Directory.

Access a gold mine at How To Buy A House the original and unique home buying series by Kate Ford.

Hop to the Homepage from Home Inspector

Bookmark And Share Whoa! Home Inspector

Please help me spread the word. Using the convenient buttons you see below, bookmark and share Whoa! Home Inspector with your friends.