Home Inspection or not ?
 

Making the transition from Condo to residential home owner...
(Still keeping the condo).

Want to get a home inspector, but having second thoughts...
Hired a home inspector for the condo purchase but wasn't impressed !
He didn't do anything that I couldn't have done myself...

Was thinking rather than hire a home inspector, I'd hire a plumber, electrcian a home remodeler, and someone to check septic...

Appreciate your feedback.

I think a good Inspection, with the emphasis on good, is very valuable. I would seek recommendations on one inspector rather than multiple professionals.

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always hire a good reputable home inspector.

I have to say it depends. It depends on how much you know about houses and how good the inspector is. We had two inspectors inspect a house and one found three things wrong and one found three pages of things wrong. It depends on how detailed they are. Since we know a lot about houses I would not bother with an inspector again. But that said, I think your idea of hiring a builder, electrician, plumber, septic guy, mason even, etc. is a good idea. If the inspector finds something, you will likely have to hire the others to get an estimate to fix the problem anyway. Most people need to have a house checked out one way or the other unless they like the spot and don't care what might be wrong with the house.

Finacing?
 

If you will be taking out a mortgage to purchase this home, more times than not the bank will require an inspection and usually by someone they recommend.

Good point.

Many questions
 

I've done both. Bought one house where the Home Inspector flipped on the furnace, it started and he turned it off. He said he couldn't tell how long it might last. Turns out the furnace had to be replaced, and the owner had been living at another property. New furnace $5000. Some years later, instead of an inspector, I brought in a furnace/heat expert. LSS,The seller bought me a new furnace, installed by my guy.

How old is the property? When were plumbing, heating, electrical systems last upgraded and is that tradesman still in business? Call him.
Is the house pre-1978 and are you worried about lead paint?
Whoever routinely pumps the septic probably can give you thoughts over the phone, or at least tell you if it has been regularly maintained.
If the owner is a do-it-yourselfer, you definitely need an inspector.

Gotta love this one: In 1975, I bought a split entry with a partially finished lower level. I called the previous owner to find out who his electrician was. "My brother-in-law did that." "Can I hire him to finish?" "No. He's not licensed, but he worked for (x) and he watched a lot." Honest story. BTW, he used chipboard for basement underlayment, then carpet. When it got wet, it swelled and the doors wouldn't move. I had an inspector for that one too.

Next time, I'd get an inspector who will find rot, mold, rodents, insects, etc. S/he can check for moisture that makes paint bubble, and all sorts of things you don't see easily. Then decide if you want to follow up with a tradesman for whatever seems weak.

FYI.. no mortgage on my own, cash purchase.

Does it make a difference?

Home inspection
 

Generally, I support using a Home Inspector, but don't take everything they say is being absolute. Most Home Inspector reports include several pages of associations and boards they belong to as personal qualifications for them, and, interestingly enough, several more pages of disclaimers for what they are not responsible for.

I had a home inspection done before I sold a house and used his report as a guideline for what I needed to do before selling the house. This inspector suggested several GFCI outlets that were not needed per Code at the time of construction, but that would be needed now and would be a wise thing to do.

Also, in the case of a couple of other issues, when they aslo appeared on the inspection report of the buyer's inspector, we negotiated a settlement to mutual agreement.

Because the building Code can be a little confusing, and because so much of a house's construction is not readily visible nor understandable to the homeowner, I do feel an Inspection is a wise investment.

I followed the advice of my broker when selecting an inspector.

One would be for the banks comfort, the other for yours.

Home inspectors are a bit like realtors. Some are very good and thorough, and others you wonder how they can even function in life because they seem so totally clueless.

A home inspection is generally not a requirement, but it's more like a second set of eyes to look things over. If the price is reasonable and the guy has good references it's probably a decent investment to have someone else look things over.

Whenever I've hired an inspector, I always make sure I'm there and follow them around, making sure they're actually, you know, inspecting stuff. The other benefit can be in final negotiations, you can take the report, which might tell you a bunch of stuff you mostly already knew, and use that to negotiate a bit more off the price, or ask for something to be repaired by the seller, etc.

As building codes certainly are changing all the time who/what makes the determination what needs to be updated and what doesn't? Everybody can't keep up with every changed code over the years in their homes this just isn't realistic.

Roof
 

The roof covers everything, but will be passed by an inspector if "it's not currently leaking". Get a look-see yourself for apparent stains on the rafters, and don't rely solely on the inspection.

If a shingle roof is 15 years old, you'll probably need to replace it soon for one reason or another. If you're present during a roof inspection, point out the stain(s). The inspector will likely give you a hummana-hummana-hummana answer. Obviously, I'm very dissatisfied with my many roofing inspections. One roof that showed obvious DIY repairs got passed, yet leaked in the middle of a bedroom upon the first rain. :fire:

Use the roof inspection and other inspections of the house as bargaining chips to lower the price, so as to allow for DIY repairs or to defer repairs (or your selected replacements) for a later season.

:look:

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For most things, if it passed code when it was built it is fine until/unless major renovations are done.

EG: the pitch of your roof might have been OK 45 years ago but today would be deemed too low (just an example). You could get the roof re-shingled without having to worry about code issues, but if you tore up the underlayment or did a large addition on the house that tied into that roof you might be required to re-do the now out of spec roof.

Commercial properties are different. Fire sprinklers are a good example, you might have a space that didn't require sprinklers 20 years ago, but if the code requirement is updated to say you now need sprinklers you'll have a timeline (1 year, etc.) where you HAVE to get the sprinklers installed in order to continue operation.

I think your approach of bringing in a plumber, electrician, general contractor, and a septic person is a good one. Have never been real impressed with any home inspectors that I have used either. They tend to tell you about a lot of stuff that's not really a big deal and often miss stuff that's important.

I would get a home inspector on a brand new home. Preowned? Not even a question.

Ask the inspector if he will be doing a blower door test as part of the inspection. If he doesn't know what that is, Thank him for his time and find another inspector.

Home inspection
 

Most home inspectors only check for basic or code violations. This satisfied the mortgage company. If you want a complete inspection like the ones insurance companies requested you may need to pay more. A good home inspector are certified ASHI. Give David Paul a call at 603.494.4227

www.homesmartinspectionsnh.com

Of all the home inspectors on the condo units in my association, he was the only one that discovered the sills and joist above the crawlspace were rotted out.

Joey the home inspection is primarily a tool for the buyer. In both cases the buyer has equity at risk it is just a matter of degree. Further, if the buyer only had only a $1.00 of equity at risk the home inspection is critical as the buyer is on the hook for the bank loan.

Disagree
 

I disagree it is tool for both. I have purchased three homes in the area and all three times the bank requested (local banks) home inspections. Also most times if your are taking out a mortgage, the bank has greater risk then the borrower. That's not to say that even if I purchased a house for cash I would absolutely have a home inspection.

The above was certainly true in the financial downturn when banks threw aside prudent underwriting but if mortgages are structured properly (which they certainly are today) the banks have little risk since they are extending secured credit. The problems experienced 10-years ago arose from lax appraisals, 100% financing, etc.

I have used Housemaster out of Rochester several times and have always been happy with their thorough attention to details and comprehensive report...

My observation and feed back from others is that most home inspections are a joke. If an inspector fails too many homes the realtor will remove their brochure from their office which is where most home-buyers make their selection. Unfortunately you can't get financing without an inspector's report.

Despite their disclaimers though, they do have liability if they miss something that should be apparent to a qualified person and you are like to learn of major deficiencies or hazards.

Almost everyone agrees that you should be there during the inspection. The realtor will be there too but is expected to observe only and not comment. The inspector will likely say things like "The roof is good but will probably need replacing in about 5 years." Or... "That furnace is about 30 years old. I've seen that model fail after 20, and last over 50."

If they get chatty they might point out things that are fine and dandy from a safety point of view even if a little out of code or the other way around. There were wires going over my rafters instead of through them, in the attic. There had been tar slathered over a leaky point in the roof, on the inside surface which is not suitable for long term but the owner had already told me that was why he had a new put on a few years prior. You can also make a list of things you might want to be sure they address.

Since this process does have the potential to be valuable I'd recommend it even if you don't need it for finance purposes. An inspection can reduce the number of post-sale surprises and help you plan any desired fixing-up.

Good luck!