Buying a new property is a serious business and you can never be too careful or cautious when you decide to make an investment of that size.
Whether it’s your new home, summer cottage, or office space you should always consider doing a thorough check because there is nothing more frustrating than seeing problems pop up after the deal is done.
You might have missed those problems in your initial inspection, or you just didn’t know where to look, or you might even be dealing with a shady seller who purposefully hid some details. You are not alone in this, you are not even expected to know all the little details.
This is where professional help comes in. This is why you need to hire a home inspection agent to take care of these things for you and give you as much info as you can use to make the final decision.
It is perfectly normal to hire multiple inspectors, just to be sure, like when you want a second opinion from a different doctor.
The next question we need to ask is the following: is the home inspector a sufficient and reliable source of information? The answer is yes and no, they are reliable but they might not be able to give you all the answers.
They are here to spot and diagnose a problem, but sometimes a more qualified specialist is required to inspect certain issues for which a regular inspector is not trained for.
Here are some of the most common problems a home inspector can help identify.
Termites and pests
Various types of wood-destroying pests can be found in almost any part of the country, but they especially tend to populate warmer parts. Here is a situation where you home inspector might sniff out this problem and suggest contacting pest removal professionals.
Problems with the Chimney
This is especially important if the property you want to purchase is of an older date. Chimneys are usually overlooked and took for granted, but in reality, they can be dangerous and cause quite a lot of problems.
You don’t want it to collapse in the middle of the winter and start a fire. That’s why a chimney expert is a great solution to thoroughly check the current state of affairs, to make sure it stands firm and the smoke is distributed correctly.
Electricity Issues
The electrical box might be too old and in need of replacement, a professional electrician can lay it out for you which brands are good and how much the replacement would cost.
Square Footage and Lot Size Miscalculations
This is important because public records are not always correct and the property owner could have also made miscalculations.
In order to be sure that the square footage is correct it is best to measure it yourself, or in other words, get an expert to do it for you.
A similar rule can be applied to the measurement of the lot. You shouldn’t rely on fences to validate the size of the lot, what you should do instead is hire a surveyor to do a precise job.
Foundation and Soil Stability
If you want to do a thorough inspection of the foundation, the best thing you can do is hire an engineer who will be able to pinpoint all the faults, risks and solutions.
While at it, it would be smart to see how stable the soil is because you need to know if there’s any danger from landslides or heavy rainstorms.
Presence Asbestos
Another important yet easily overlooked point on your checklist. You don’t need an expert to come over and investigate. What you need to do is take a sample and bring to the lab for testing, this method is more reliable than tests you can do at home yourself.
Mold Infestation
Mold can be a pretty common problem in any part of the country and it has a bad effect on your health.
In order to test this in your home, you need an air pump to make a sample of indoor air and take it to a laboratory for testing.
Missing Legal Permits
Last but not least, you should check if the property has all the necessary legal permits.
Let’s say you buy a renovated home with remodeled rooms and maybe new, additional rooms which were added during the renovation.
The house looks nice in reality but double check if it’s legit on the paper as well.
