101: Home Inspection Lessons
May 18th, 2007 | Published in electrical wiring, finances, real estate | 9 Comments
Recently we heard from a new homeowner who thought they knew exactly what they were buying after having the house fully inspected by a home inspector. To their surprise, when they called in a contractor to do some renovations, the contractor found numerous errors and mistakes made by the home inspector.
Sadly, the house is going to be much expensive to renovate than was initially budgeted for.
In this blog entry, we try to give you some things to think about during a home inspection.
1. Seasonality of Inspection – When you have a home inspected prior to purchase, consider the season that the home inspector is working in . For example, if it is winter and the roof is covered in snow, how can the inspector properly judge the quality of the roof ? If this is the case, try and get documentation from the homeowner on the condition of the roof, the warranty, and the last time the roof was worked on.
2. Knob and Tube Wiring – It is very difficult for a home inspector to determine the extent of knob-and-tube wiring in a house. Often, you will get an estimate percentage from the inspector. Since the inspector can’t rip out the walls and actually see the knob and tube, their determination is made based on the plugs and switches.
3. Hiding the house’s faults – As a home inspector’s visit to your house is brief, often they can miss things that have been hidden from the inspection. A common example of this is when homeowners paint their foundation walls to hide mold and leaking.
4. Home inspection liability limitations – Remember that the inspector is not liable for missed items during an inspection. They are only liable for the amount of the actual cost of the inspection, so before you agree to the results of their inspection, make sure there isn’t anything you think they’ve missed .
5. Insulation in the Attic – This is one area often missed in an inspection. Due to the difficulty of getting into the attic, the volume, type and quality of the attic insulation is often not included on an inspection.
So what is the end result? Home inspection services are very useful and can give the homeowner peace of mind when making a decision on buying a home. However, given the nature of the job, it is important to choose a home inspector with experience, not just the cheapest one. There are some really great home inspection companies out there to choose from. Please try to keep in mind some of these lessons during an inspection.
For more information on home improvement visit The Home Renovation Guide – http://www.homerenovationguide.com – The complete guide to home renovation.
January 21st, 2009 at 6:33 pm (#)
I am a state-approved trainer for home inspectors and a licensed home inspector. Seasonality (such as snow on roofs)primarily is a gardening zone 8 and north variable, and even there not a “black and white” issue (inspectors can judge roof leaks better from attics, for example). In zone 6 and south, a snow covered roof limits home inspections only a few days a year. Insulation in the attic should virtually never be missed by a capable home inspector and is a mandatory inspection items under all national Standards of Practice (though R values are not).
More importantly, home inspection clients should be aware that many state home inspection licensing laws and the three leading national home inspection Standards of Practice (some states have their own Standards of Practice, in addition to or instead of the national standards) provide: (1) home inspections are not building code inspections; (2) home inspections exclude “environmental hazards,” and the list of excluded environmental hazards differs from one Standard of Practice to another; and (3) seller disclosure documents often are covered by state laws and regulations that essentially say a seller disclosure is not a warranty or guarantee (unless the parties turn it into a warranty in the deed, not just the purchase contract), even though the “man in the street” naturally thinks they are; other disclosure laws and regulations at most provide meaningless ($250) fines for false “disclosures.”
Home owners also might benefit from knowing home inspectors are useful for more than inspecting a house before they buy. Now that home warranties are common, but good for just a year or two, a home inspection before the owner’s warranty expires is a good idea, for example. Steve Keeney
April 1st, 2009 at 8:14 am (#)
When the sink wouldn’t drain and it was necessary to call rotorooter, we were told that the plumbing under the sink was not at code. Shouldn’t this error have been detected when the house was inspected?
Also, what are the regulations for the front and back doors? Is there a code for fire safety in Spokane, Washington? There is here in Issaquah, Washington.
August 5th, 2009 at 9:50 am (#)
to Marylou Lewis, It shouldve probably have had been taking care by your home inspector, seems he did a pretty bad job at it haha.
September 5th, 2009 at 4:53 am (#)
Unfortunately I came to this page, but I feel very interesting and got very useful information.
September 28th, 2009 at 1:18 pm (#)
Home buyers are usually concerned about the structure, roof, heating systems and a dry basement. Those areas in particular are evaluated meticulously, but we make sure to ascertain other areas that may be of some concern to you. We work for you, not the seller or the Realtor. We help you assess the risk of home ownership and disclose the defects in the home to you which will assist you in making an informed decision.
The process of inspecting a home is a crucial one. Many buyers purchase their home on impulse and find themselves suffering from buyers remorse upon discovering serious flaws in the home itself. At Accurate Inspections, we provide our clients with the tools they need to make an educated choice regarding the quality and condition of their potential new home. By hiring an experienced home inspector who has your best interest solely in mind, our clients are better able to judge the strengths and weaknesses of the home in which they are under contract to buy. We will inspect the structure, exterior, roof, plumbing, electric, heating, ac, interior and fireplace.
November 12th, 2009 at 2:40 pm (#)
Home inspector services are easily available from online and you can hire Certified Home Inspector from http://equityinspection.com// site also!! This site is really good and this site has Certified home inspectors!!!
February 18th, 2010 at 3:12 am (#)
It is pretty safe to assume that a buyer who contracts to buy your house will want to have a professional whole house inspection conducted. So why not wait until you have a buyer who wants and will pay for an inspection?You can try to visit Home Inspector Service site for any help!
May 27th, 2011 at 6:39 pm (#)
I love the content of this one. This can help avoid problems encountered during inspections. It can also help save money for renovations. Home inspection is really beneficial to home owners and buying clients.
Anaheim Wiring
August 17th, 2011 at 7:32 am (#)
list of home security systems…
I can’t believe this actually is true: 101: Home Inspection Lessons | Home Improvement Blog…