Do I Really Need a Home Inspection?

This question naturally comes to mind for any prospective home buyer. Real estate is selling so quickly some may feel a home inspection will only hurt their chances of securing a home. Keeping that in mind, is it ever a good idea to skip the home inspection?

The Good (Maybe)

In this real estate market, buyers are doing whatever they can to make themselves more attractive to a seller. Being willing to forego the home inspection might put them first in line.

The Bad (Could be Very Bad)

Well, it looks ok from the outside…

We've all heard the term money pit when it comes to homes, and if you decide to forego a home inspection, that could be just what you are getting.

For example, our family went through this very same thing. We were a young family and looking to buy our first home. We found one we liked and decided not to have a home inspection performed. We paid for that decision. After purchasing the house, we found some serious problems. There was a broken water pipe leaking gray water into our crawl space, our electrical panel was known for starting fires, and our HVAC ductwork had pulled free of its restraints and was lying on the ground, allowing rodents to make their way inside. These were all issues that we could've at least been aware of if there had been a home inspection. It may have even allowed us to negotiate with the seller at the time. Instead, it was all on us to correct, and there was no recourse.

The Ugly

The risk of not having a home inspection done could make sense for you in the short term but hurt you in the long run. A home is a big investment. It could be the biggest one you ever make. Is it worth the risk to buy a home without an inspection and hope that the house is all that the seller promises?

The other issue is safety. Think back to our faulty electrical panel. What if it had started a fire? Health and safety should always be a top priority, especially when it comes to where you live.

An Ounce of Prevention...

For the reasons, we discussed the old saying "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" is certainly true. An informed home buying decision is one that you will never regret.

If you have never had a home inspection done, please see our article: “Home Inspections, What to Expect”.

Happy House Hunting!

Bear Creek Home Inspections

Home Inspections, What to Expect

Buying a new home can be a stressful process full of many steps. You go through so much narrowing down of your options and now it is time for the home inspection on what could potentially be your dream house. But what might happen on such an inspection and what is the home inspector looking for? 

 First things first, here’s a basic list of the four categories that they will be looking for:

1. Serious defects such as structural issues.

2. Issues that could lead up to more serious problems, like a leak for instance.

3. Anything that would prevent you from purchasing, insuring, or inhabiting the home.

4. Safety hazards.

 Just looking at the categories above it’s easy to see why a home inspection is so important.

 The major building components are inspected with these categories in mind. This would include components such as the roof, exterior, cooling system, heating, garage (if applicable), electrical, attic, insulation, ventilation, bathrooms, doors, windows, interior, kitchen, laundry, basement, foundation, crawlspace, and plumbing. Again, looking at this list it’s easy to see why a home inspection is so important. You certainly do not want your dream home turning into a nightmare, or if you’re looking for a fixer upper it’s at least nice to go in with as much information as possible. To see what our inspection reports look like, please, click here for a sample report.

 We hope that this will, at least, take some of the guesswork out of what a home inspection involves. If you are in the process of buying a home why not contact us and see how we can help you on your journey to homeownership. At Bear Creek Home Inspections we offer professional inspections along with a quick turnaround time to make your life just that little bit easier.

 Happy House Hunting!

Bear Creek Home Inspections