Congratulations! You have finally found the perfect home. But be careful that new home may not be as perfect as it seems. Even a well maintained home can have hidden problems that you may not notice by just walking though the house. So how do you protect yourself? By performing a comprehensive home inspection.

A Home Inspection is a visual examination of the physical structure and systems of a property. A major concern of homebuyers is being suddenly confronted with major (and costly) problems after they take settlement of a property. A home inspection can reduce anxiety of buying a home by screening for problems and itemizing them in a comprehensive report. 

A home inspection can also be used as financial leverage in negotiating the purchase of your home. You will be in a better position to renegotiate the price downward if any major problem is found during the home inspection that you believe the seller should pay for.    

Hiring a professional home inspector to perform the home inspection is highly recommended but it may be cost prohibitive to have a professional home inspection on every house that you are interested in. Learning how to do an effective pre-inspection can save you time and considerable money. Many times you can find issues that will allow you eliminate a house from consideration with out paying $400 to $700 for a professional home inspection.

Using a software package called THE HOME EVALUATOR by Custom Design Software can complete a pre-inspection. This is one of the easiest and inexpensive software programs available and considering that it cost less than the price of one home inspection (in most states) it is worth checking into.

This software walks you though a 680 point home inspection and prints off a color report (including photos if you have a camera) which can be a nice negotiating tool with the seller when you would like them to pick up the cost of any necessary repairs.

If you are going to do the home inspection with pen and paper (be careful it is easy to miss important items) then you should take some time and right out all of the areas and items you intend to check before you start the walk through. We have given you a list of the major areas you should check with the link at the bottom of the page, but be sure to take the list and write out the questions for each area. Doing some research on home inspections in your local library would probably be helpful. Here are a few tips on what to look for:

Exterior Issues

1. If the house has siding be sure to inspect for sections of the siding that look as though as if they may have shifted.
2. If the house has concrete block (or stucco over block) or it has a brick veneer, look for cracks that appear wider at the top than at the bottom.
3. If at all possible try to determine the age of the roofing material. If the roof is over 10 years old then it should be closely checked and check in the attic for signs of water damage.
4. The flashing, piping and other parts of the chimneys should also be checked carefully.
5. Check for water penetration of the basement or crawl space. Also check crawl spaces for any standing water. If its dry and you notice any indentations in the soil in the crawl space area, water can gather in these areas.
6. Check to be sure there is a positive slope away from the foundation to the house.

Interior Issues

1. Be cautious of older fuel fired heating systems they will probably need to be replaced with a modern more efficient system.
2. Beware of the "in-floor" or "in-ceiling" radiant heating sources. They are inefficient and will cause you to have higher then normal energy cost.
3. When you check cooling systems beware of odd noises from the condensing unit or air handling system.
4. Check closely for leaks in the pumping system and any water damaged areas that might need replaced.
5. Be cautious of a galvanized water pipe system it will need to be replace costing several thousand dollars.
6. Try to verify if the house has at least a 200 Amp service supply.
7. Check to see if the house has GFCI outlets near kitchen sinks and all outlets in bathroom and that they work properly.

If you complete the pre-inspection and narrow down you choices to one or two homes we would highly recommended using a professional home inspector to do a final home inspection on these homes. 

Be careful to keep your emotions inline and check out that dream house carefully before the purchase. Happy hunting and we hope you will enjoy your new home! 

Other info on home inspections Home Inspection Fact Sheet