Thursday, June 11, 2009

The Home In$pection

When we put the conditional offer in on the house a week or so ago, the realtor strongly recommended a home inspection. We figured that he knows his stuff and if he strongly recommended it, we should take his advice.

I was expecting a half hour walk through and a bill.

Was I ever wrong.

There were two men who went over the place like a CSI team with their flashlights, shining in every nook and cranny, inspecting absolutely everything. They inspected the brick work, and looked for evidence of settling, water leaking, and various other brick related stuff that we knew nothing about. They climbed up on the roof, looked at chimneys and inside chimneys. I was amazed at how they told us all kinds of stuff before we even went inside.

They tested everything, all the appliances that are included, all the outlets, checked for stuff that we would have noticed over the course of the first month of moving in. They pointed out anything that wasn't building code compliant.

We were thoroughly impressed. Our half hour hour and a bill became three and a half hours and a binder full of reports and information about all kinds of stuff.

Well worth it and highly recommended.

We found out about a few minor expenses that we would be facing right away. They told us a few inexpensive ways of saving a bunch of money on heat. Nothing major at all at all was wrong. As a matter of fact, for the most part they were really impressed with the everything from structure to stove.

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5 comments:

Cherylinn said...

I really think they are great, when we had the cottage done before purchasing it, there was one item of HIGH concern. One plug in, in the master bedroom had a bare live wire tucked in the wall...They were there for 2 hours before we even got there inspecting the exterior stuff. Well worth the money you spend on them.

Glad all went well....Now just sell your place will you.

DHI Home Inspection said...

Good story. People often think home inspectors just look around do a report and bill ya. I have been a home inspector for 11 years now. I have saved many clients hundreds of thousands dollars during this time. The home inspection is as important as the offer itself. It should not be overlooked.

David Salvati
Founder of
Homeinspectionservices.org

Cherylinn said...

Dave how far from home do you travel to do inspections?

Lauras Garden said...

We always have a home inspection and they are invaluable. Our last one was just over $300 so it is well worth it. And you will find that you refer to the binder when you have questions about things.

SusanE said...

Must have been fun to watch.

I've never had one done, but then I haven't bought a home since 1985.