Home Inspection Basics As A First Time Homebuyer

You want to avoid any major surprises when you’re considering a new home purchase so contracting with a professional home inspector can alleviate much of the stress and concerns about your prospective home early in the home buying process.

The problem is official home inspections are only required after the signing of an initial contract. It would therefore be wise on your part to know all about the house you are considering buying from the seller himself/herself. You can even ask the seller to allow you to conduct an informal inspection of the property yourself just to check the general condition of the house.

Most sellers will be open to having you inspect the home well before signing any type of contract, and this gives you some leverage when you are negotiating the final price. Barron’s ‘Smart Consumer’s Guide to Home Buying’ encourages all prospective homebuyers to prepare a checklist and note any problems and areas of concern as early as possible. The authors of the book explain that, “If you are thinking about buying a house that will need renovation or upgrading, the more value will be derived from your mini-inspection.”

Consider creating a checklist for a home inspection report so you can do a walk-through of the home and take notes about the appearance and overall condition of the home. Here are some essential areas to cover:

Learn about the age of the home – you’ll want to find out exactly when the home was built, what types of renovations or new construction took place on the home site, and if there are any architect or engineering plans available.

Inspect the house’s foundation – Check if there large cracks around the home and basement. You should also check for water or weather related damages. Ask the seller if the house ever experienced or experiences weather related problems in various seasons.

Examine the interior of the house – Keep an eye for any defects and other potential sources of problems in the interior of the house. Specifically, you need to check if all walls are even with no cracks and if all doors are easily opened and closed. Take a picture of any visible crack, if possible. Check if there are any molds, foul odors and if all water drainages and faucets are working properly.

Examine the exterior of the house – Again, look for any obvious defects and potential problems. First, check if all doors and windows open and close easily. You might also want to check if they are properly insulated. Take note of the sidings and see noticeable signs of wear and tear.

Inspect the house’s heating and air conditioning systems – You want to know the average electricity cost per month when operating these appliances. Ask about the age of these appliances as well. Old heating and air conditioning systems are usually inefficient and you may need to replace them.

In addition to the written inspection report, you may consider taking pictures or short video clips using a digital camera/camcorder so you can review everything again in more detail at a later date. This extra footage or coverage may also give you an upper hand during the negotiation process with the seller.