Buying a new home is a complicated, time-consuming, and costly process. When you factor in pressure from third parties and the urge to move and make that house you fell in love with your new home, it is easy to want to cut corners. A home inspection can sometimes seem unnecessary, especially if you’ve visited the house multiple times, but you’d be surprised the amount of things a professional eye can see which you might miss. Here are four great reasons you should not skimp and hire the best home inspector you can.
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Save Money
This might be the biggest transaction of your life, and business transactions hang on one thing: information. You should be knowledgeable about as many aspects of the home’s history and construction as possible. Commissioning an inspection might bring out issues that are not obvious from the paperwork. This then gives you ammunition to negotiate the price down, if necessary. Be aware that some structural or other defects could mean your house is not insurable, leading to immediate higher costs of buying.
Ensuring the Future
Most of us buy a home as a blank slate, something that we will make our own. However, it is difficult to forecast the ways in which your life and family might develop — will you be able to bring down walls? Will you be able to build an extension? And, if there have already been additions to the building, can they remain in place? Getting answers to these questions is crucial to your understanding of your new house and how to calculate future costs of housing.
Safety
Image via Flickr by Tim Dorr
This should be your number one priority. Your plumbing might be ancient and need repair or the electrical work not up to standard. These repairs could end up being costly, and even worse, dangerous. A thorough inspection can bring out issues that might become real problems five years down the line, and you shouldn’t be paying for them.
A system that is often overlooked is the HVAC — which could have far-reaching consequences. Hire an HVAC professional for that service, or even consider an all-new installation. Homeowners often do not give appropriate care to the HVAC system. After moving in, make sure to have it regularly serviced, cleaned, and repaired if necessary.
Be Comfortable With Letting Go
Once you’ve decided to buy and made an offer, it might be difficult to come to terms with the idea that a house you love is not safe or economically viable as an investment. Commissioning a professional inspection can help you make the difficult choice to let go and break the deal — and might sometimes provide you with the only way to do so.
There are different kinds of inspections, and different reasons to do them, and you should find out what is the most relevant for the property you’re buying. But everyone agrees that having the peace of mind and confidence that your family and money is safe should justify the expenditure of hiring a professional home inspector.
