Your home is probably the largest purchase you'll ever make. Wouldn't you like to know about any problems with the home before you buy it? It may need a new roof, furnace, water heater, or some other major problem and need several major repairs. Knowledge is power and armed with this information you can make a more informed decision on your purchase. Furthermore, your inspector can educate you about needed maintenance, upkeep, and how to operate your home.
If you're selling a home, wouldn't you like to know what issues you may be facing possibly only days before closing? Wouldn't you like to be able to have plenty of time to address the problems, gather information, get estimates from several contractors and have the repairs made before placing your home on the market? Finding out that you have a major problem, or problems, with the home only a few days before closing leads to emotional, often bad, decisions - potentially costing you thousands of dollars.
Should you simply inspect the home yourself? You could, but buying a home can be an emotional experience. An inspector is trained to look for problems that you may simply overlook. It helps to have a trained, "disinterested" party inspect the home. Do you trust your judgment after looking at possibly dozens of homes and finally finding the "perfect" home? Can you be completely objective and inspect your "dream home" yourself?
So, what is a home inspection?
A home inspection is a limited visual survey of the major systems of a home to determine if they are functioning as intended. No walls will be torn down, no holes will be made - it is a non-invasive inspection - not intended to be technically exhaustive. A technically exhaustive inspection would require a roofer, electrician, plumber, heating, ventilation & air conditioning expert, structural and geological engineers, pest expert, carpenter... you get the point... costing possibly thousands of dollars.
It is a snapshot inspection in time the inspector can only tell you what he saw with his eyes at the date and time of the inspection. The inspector is trained to spot signs that something may be amiss and may lead to the discovery of actual problems or defects with the home.
We base our inspections on current industry standards (we belong to the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI ®)). These standards tell the inspector and client what the inspector can and cannot do. These standards tell which areas the inspector must inspect, and how. Bear in mind that there are several excluded items from the inspection such as anything buried, home security systems, and pools.
The inspector is not limited by these standards and may include additional services, such as radon testing (we are qualified to perform radon testing), usually for an additional fee.
Despite rumors to the contrary, home inspectors cannot tell the future and tell you how much longer a system or component will last. All systems and components have typical life expectancies, but some will fail much sooner than expected, others may last long after their typical life.
The average time for an inspection on a typical 3 bedroom home usually takes 2-1/2 to over 3-1/2 hours, depending upon the age of the home, number of bathrooms, kitchens, fireplaces, crawlspaces, attics, etc., that have to be inspected. Inspections that take less than two hours typically are considered strictly cursory walk-through inspections and provide the client with less information than a full inspection. Plus, there may be time required back at the office to research items in question, prepare the report, and deliver the report.
I highly encourage you to attend the inspection - watch what the inspector does. He can point out good and bad items, educate you on how to operate your home, and you can better understand the scope of the inspection. By the way, ASHI requires members to take at least 20 hours of continuing education each year to maintain their membership. An educated, informed inspector is a good thing...
Some inspectors use a checklist style report with comments. Others use a rating system with comments. Spotlight uses a generally narrative report, complete with photos of problem areas. You'll also get an "overview" of problem areas with Spotlight.
Take a look at a sample report here.
Home inspections cover four key areas: the exterior, the basement or crawlspace areas, the attic or crawlspace areas and the living areas. Inspectors typically will spend sufficient time in all of these areas to visually look for a host of red flags, tell-tale clues and signs or defects and deficiencies.
The inspected areas of a home will consist of all of the major visible and accessible electro-mechanical systems as well as the major visible and accessible structural systems and components of a building as they appeared and functioned at the time and date of the inspection.
Inspectors typically do not provide warranties or guaranties with their inspections and reports. Buyers should therefore not rely on the inspection as any form of insurance policy against any latent, hidden, concealed or future defects and deficiencies.
The following are also some key items that sellers and buyers should remember and consider when reviewing their inspection reports:
- Inspections are not building code compliance evaluations.
- Buyers should consult with and ask questions of homeowners and their representatives.
- Reports are confidential and are meant exclusively for the client. The home inspector should receive your permission to give a copy of the report to your agent.
- Further evaluation by specialists is recommended for any areas showing defects/deficiencies.
- A final walk-through inspection should be carried out the day before passing by the new owners to double check the condition of the building.
Hopefully, this has helped. If you have any questions, please give us a call at 719-510-2546 or e-mail us at info@SpotlightInspections.com
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