by Philip Ray
When buying a new home you will be faced with making critical decisions on many aspects of house buying that you may not have appropriate experience or expertise in. these may include finance, lifestyle and construction.
How do you tell if a home is in good structural condition, or if it just needs a bit of smartening up or if it is going to be a money pit? You will need to have a a home condition report provided by a reputable Home Inspector. This will be necessary not only for your peace of mind, but your mortgage may depend upon it. There are many Home Inspector Associations throughout the US and you will need to find a Home Inspector that you can trust. To do this you will need to check out Home Inspector Association web sites, talk to your neighbors and friends and to realtors.
A home inspector should provide you with a comprehensive analysis of the condition of the buildings major systems and components. This means that the inspector should inspect all readily accessible and visually observable installed systems in and outside of the home.
The Inspector's report should list all systems and components that, in the opinion of the inspector, are not functioning properly, are significantly deficient, that are unsafe or are near the end of their working life.
The report should make recommendations to correct any reported deficiencies and or monitor the potential need for future remedial works. The report should also highlight any areas which will need further, more in depth investigation. However, the inspector will not normally make recommendations as to the nature of any remedials needed nor as to the possible cost. The Inspector may design or specify repairs if he/she is qualified and willing to do this.
The Inspector's report should include any explanations of deficiencies in the building that are not readily self-evident. It should also highlight any systems or components that were not inspected and the reasons why. The inspector may not include some systems or components if requested by the client to leave these out.
But be warned - if your home inspection report does not contain certain important information, there will almost certainly be a reason for this. Potential home buyers will be cautious about making a commitment to buying a property with an incomplete Home Inspection Report.
