Common Home Inspection Mistakes Buyers and Sellers Make

Home inspectors provide tremendous value and insightful information about the current condition of the property and future upkeep maintenance recommendations. The home inspection is one of the most crucial steps for buying a home and shouldn’t be overlooked. Regardless whether you’re a buyer or seller, inspections an essential part of a successful real estate transaction. If you’re getting a home inspection, here are common mistakes to avoid.




Forgoing An Home Inspection:

Whether you’re buying or selling always get an home inspection, even when buying new construction home. New construction home are not flawless and they to have issues and it is necessary to get a home inspection. Although, new construction home inspections are less likely to have some of the common issues that exist with older structures. However, new construction home inspections on newly built homes can unearth any evidence of poor workmanship or failure to follow the floorplans, leaky plumbing, bad wiring, drainage problems near or around the foundation.


Keep in mind that all homes regardless new or existing homes have unapparent defects, despite the quality of construction or the integrity of the builder. Considering the complexity of building something as large as a house, its possible to have a few errors along the way at various stages of the building process. Even with getting your initial home inspection, you should not overlook getting relevant inspections that are considered extra or optional. For example, pools, septic systems, or wells as other potential issues such as radon or lead that might fall outside of a normal home inspection.


2. Not Researching The Inspection:
It’s hard to know exactly what kind of credentials to look for when hiring an home inspector, unless you’re in the industry or have common knowledge of the home inspection process and industry. To ensure that you find the best home inspector for the job, you will want to make sure that he or she is an certified professional inspector. Most importantly, the goal is to hire a certified professional who stays current and keeps up with ongoing education. Here’s a glimpse at a few questions to ask:

  • How long have you been inspecting homes?
  • How many inspections have you done?
  • What are your qualifications, certifications and training?
  • What was your job before you were a home inspector? ( Ideally, your home inspector was in a similar niche such as contracting or building.)
You should also make sure that your inspectors are using the latest equipment and keeping up with the ever-changing industry and following standards of practice. If in doubt your real estate professional can point you in the right direction for finding comptent home inspectors.



3. Not Being Present For the Inspection:

Being present for the home inspection is highly recommended and in some cases might be a requirement for the home inspector. It’s not uncommon for home inspectors to turn down inspection because people can’t or don’t want to be present during the inspection. Your home inspector can give you an estimate of how much you’ll need to spend on repairs and upgrades and other valuable information as you consider your budget and basic upkeep of the home.



4. Forging Getting A Pre-Sale Inspection:

Surprisingly, many sellers leave the pre-sale inspection to the buyers. This is a huge mistake, mainly because this gives sellers little time to complete repairs and keep the sale on track. Overall having a home inspection benefits all parties involved in the real estate transaction. When sellers conduct a pre-sale they have more time to do repairs and shop for the best quotes for work. Getting home inspection is not only a smart idea, but it’s crucial in the success of your real estate transaction. Avoiding these common mistakes not only alleviate the stress and give you a peace of mind, but it will make your transaction go more smoothly.



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