Buying a House Part 3: The Inspection

After making an offer, getting preapproved and then setting up the initial application the inspection process was set up. This process tho is optional and you may waive unless you have cash for the entire house and expert ablities should never be waived. There is so much in an inspection I never expected.

First you need to be there or the inspector may not do his job. Secondly you need to find one within your budget. Shop around and get references. Luckily for me my agent knew of this man and his work. But more importantly my agent was honest as well of what kind of man he could be.

I did not just take him for his word tho I shopped four other possiblities and found him the most reasonable and willing to throw in the termite inspection for free because it was Christmas time and he needed the work. For 250 dollars I found the right inspector and we met after thanksgiving to get the work done.

He and I both showed up early and worked first on the outside looking at the mini barn and the garage for what was wrong. He climbed on the roof and inspected the chimney which was not in the inspection contract but he did it anyway which makes him a good inspector. He found the roof in good order but the gutters full and the tree too close that it would need trimmed or taken down. He found while up there the chimney had a few cracks and would need chaulked and about the neighbors and the vents. He inspected the furnace and found it in order and when he came down he checked the height of the foundation. Which btw should be more then 6 inches.

He then went inside and spent a good 30 minutes checking the crawl space for termites and other organisms you don't want. He found a vent pushed in and termite treatment but no termites. This was good enough to be noted but not a flag. He found the foundation was set well but he suggested something that was not a good idea that I found out in a later date. He said close off the vents and insulate the pipes. Insulating the pipes is a good idea but there are reasons they put vents down there and even tho he said that he suggested closing them off my agent told me later what happened when one person did his suggestion and the foundation beams slowly rotted away with moisture in the summer and thus detered me from this action. Thus it is always a good idea to get a second opinion. Lucky for me I had a few that were willing to look at the ideas and had knowledge as well as the license to do the work that told me what I needed to know.

After the crawl space he checked my heating and may central air to see if it was very good as well as the cosmetic things like cracks from settling and moisture on the windows, types of windows types of doors, if they are in order and working. He checked the fire alarm and inside the fireplace finding cracks and the damper opened which would have to be fixed. He found a hot wire and he found a leak on one of the faucets. He checked the appliances and found the range was bad but the rest of them were good.

Finally he checked the roof and found it was not too bad. It was dry insulated and free from moisture. But there were some pipes that needed insulation. And last but not least he checked the electrical system. Sure as I had said it was outdated but not so bad that he would be an easy fix and perhaps the seller would do the work maybe even set me up an electrical plug for an electric oven.

I took all that inspection as he printed me pictures and a full diagnostic signed and paid him. Then took his findings to my contractor friend to find out what I needed to do.

My next step would then be to see my agent and make my new negotiations which as to this date is where we are not standing on this house. After the offer is accepted the inspection is done the new negotiations make this work or the deal dies. I mainly asked for them to fix my fireplace and the things wrong with it, the gutters, and update the electrical system. I did ask for them to fix the leak and I had to ask them to set the hot wire under the sink in a box for safety issues.
Saturday night i will find out if this deal is still on.