Home Inspections

[Jamen]

I will be starting the home buying journey here this spring. I am in no hurry to buy one for the sake of buying. So, until i find one that fits my needs i will continue the hunt. Is there anything out of the ordinary i should have inspected before signing my name to a house? Or are normal inspections good enough? Being it will be my first home I'd rather do extra homework beforehand than end up with an issue i could have maybe foreseen with an inspection of something outside the normal home inspections. Not sure if scoping the sewer main is a common practice but a good number of the houses in town have old clay pipes with roots growing through and cause big headaches and a good chunk of money to fix. My dad had his done several years ago from the sewer main to the middle of the road and at that time it was over $15,000. No idea what that'd be today.

So in short is there anything out of the ordinary i should keep in mind while looking at houses?

Thanks
Jamen

 

[tillicant]

Foundation. Proper drainage. Seems like we get a lot of calls from new homeowners after-the-fact.
If you use a good home inspector, they will most likely cover that.

 

[brownbear932008]

Get an inspector with the nickname of "deal breaker". True story and they will be worth your while.

 

[Nick87]

Get an inspector with the nickname of "deal breaker". True story and they will be worth your while.

This try to find a good one I've had more than my share of hacks and stories a mile long. Most of those guys read right off of s checklist and are mostly worthless imo. Good luck. Also the same above goes for a Realtor.

 

[JLDemo]

Depending on where you're at, Radon.

Not particularly apart of the inspection, but take a long hard look at the water drainage layout. Collection points can cost you dearly. The water pooling, hydrostatic and so on that might not be visible or even an issue unless hard rains might bite you in the butt if not addressed.

 

[Brad W]

You should pick your home inspector, not your realtors recommendation. You don’t want any mixed incentives. A good one will know what to look for and give you a detailed report after the fact. Other than that just know that there are guaranteed to be problems with the house, you just have to decide if they are dealbreakers and who will pay for them. In my area, the Northeast, chimneys are important to inspect both interior and exterior. Both sides can be an expensive repair and lots of people do really dumb things in their fireplaces.

 

[YukonGold]

My standard home inspection (in MT, somewhat recently) didn't include scoping the sewer pipes. Inspector said I'd have to hire a plumber to do that.

 

[DouglasR]

Foundation. Proper drainage. Seems like we get a lot of calls from new homeowners after-the-fact.
If you use a good home inspector, they will most likely cover that.

Agree with drainage.
Try to go by the place you’re looking at after a big rain if you can.

 

[LopeHunter]

I was the 4th owner of a home. Presumably was inspected previously. I hired an ispector suggested by the realtor. Minor things were found which would be expected as was not new build and was not a fixer upper.

I went to sell a few years later and the buyer's inspector noted there was Contruction debris in the crawl zone under the home. He was right. My guy missed it. Likely several inspectors missed it.

So, I crawled under our home gazing at spiders and webs, missed nails sticking out several inches mere inches from me as I gathered up 12 construction trash bags, each 1/3 full (that was all I could load and get the bag through the hole to the crawl space) of pink insulation, heater duct metal trimmings, nails, staples, pop cans, chunks of 2x4s, plastic sheets and blobs of concrete.

Lesson: Realtors do not want a commission to go away so look for inspectors that do not rock the boat. Hire the inspector that kicks rear and takes names when you are the buyer.

 

[Nick87]

Agree with drainage.
Try to go by the place you’re looking at after a big rain if you can.

100% this amongst other things they don't look at.

 

[Jwill]

In my experience home inspections are cursory, seems like most folks in the real estate industry just want the deal to go through as quickly as possible. So take your time, look at lots of homes, ask lots of questions. When you sign a contract make sure it allows all the inspections, even if you have to hire someone besides a "home inspector" to do them. A lot of inspectors can add on services, but some of the stuff below isn't always included in the base inspection. Make sure they're getting in the attic, under the house, and on the roof.

Buying in a sellers market can make it really tough as the offers that waive inspection will be more attractive, so some of this stuff you may have to kind of do on your own before making an offer. If you find major problems, sometimes you can use that to negotiate repairs, but if you're willing to just adjust price and do the repairs later, that can be more attractive to a seller. Sometimes your lender will want the repairs done if any big items pop up, so keep that in mind too.

If it's on a well, consider testing the water. We backed out of an offer after the water tested like 50x over the limit for lead... Test for radon, I've had two houses test high (installing a radon fan will probably cost you $1-2k). Check the sex offender registry to make sure you don't have any neighbors on that list. If the house is older or lots of trees around, checking the septic tank/connection isn't a bad idea, I had to back out of an offer after looking at the septic tank (concrete crumbling) and drainfield (was a swamp). Make sure bathrooms are vented correctly. Look for evidence of plumbing leaks (stained drywall or ceilings). Check the electric panel. If it has a basement and that basement is made of cinderblocks, look hard for leaks/moisture. Test the HVAC. Will echo to make sure there is adequate drainage around the house. Check to make sure it's not in a floodplain, county GIS maps usually have this info. If you can get your hands on the survey, see if there are any easements on the property that may be an issue (neighbors right of way, gas main, etc.), you can usually find the deed or plat at the county courthouse with a little bit of research.

That's all I can think of for now. I am pretty sure most realtors don't like me btw.

 

[David58]

I was the 4th owner of a home. Presumably was inspected previously. I hired an ispector suggested by the realtor. Minor things were found which would be expected as was not new build and was not a fixer upper.

I went to sell a few years later and the buyer's inspector noted there was Contruction debris in the crawl zone under the home. He was right. My guy missed it. Likely several inspectors missed it.

So, I crawled under our home gazing at spiders and webs, missed nails sticking out several inches mere inches from me as I gathered up 12 construction trash bags, each 1/3 full (that was all I could load and get the bag through the hole to the crawl space) of pink insulation, heater duct metal trimmings, nails, staples, pop cans, chunks of 2x4s, plastic sheets and blobs of concrete.

Lesson: Realtors do not want a commission to go away so look for inspectors that do not rock the boat. Hire the inspector that kicks rear and takes names when you are the buyer.

Similar experience, and the inspector missed the horrid dry rot under the bathroom.

I thought I would save a few bucks on the inspection by hiring a friend, never considered he was too fat to get to where the issues were.

Saved a couple hundred, spent some $6K.

David
NM

 

[Nick87]

@Jamen best advice I could give on hiring am actual inspector is to shop around and find one and let them know why your looking and ask questions especially if you've got some time. 99% of buyers make the call there offer is accepted and use whoever is available or the realtor schedules for them. That said the last one I used I did this with and still got burned, the owner sent a young inexperienced kid out. Something I should have totally caught but you'll find there is about 10,000 things going through your kind when your trying to make a decision. Caught it like the 2nd day of moving in and called him on it. Said best he could do was refund me the inspection fees ($600) cost me about $3,700.

 

[recon6036]

Termites…..I paid extra for a Termite inspection after my realtor talked me into it. Never heard of anyone having Termites before.
Inspection came back good, but 3 months after buying the house, I found Termites and structural damage.
Inspection company went good on it and admitted they messed up.
They covered thousands of dollars in repairs and Termite eradication.

 

[Jamen]

Thanks everyone for the replies! Definitely adding these to the lists of things to inspect. Really sucks the housing market where I live. If you don't make a decision within a day or 2 you are SOL. And the reason. I asked it here is I heard a ton of stories of inspectors doing bad jobs just to pass inspections for realtors and getting kick backs.

 

[np307]

Having done remodel/rot repair/construction work, foundation/crawl space issues tend to skate by sometimes and fixing them is very costly because of the risk involved (and the fact that it's miserable work if the crawl space is a bad one). We did a crawl space job once where 3/4 of the joists were rotten, along with the 3 ply girder, and a section of the band. Literally almost nothing was holding this house up. When we lifted the joists in the worst corner of the house, it raised the floor 3 inches. Enough to bow the wood paneling in that room. Wood paneling that was put up 35 years prior to the work we were doing, meaning that those joists had been rotten for that length of time.

 

[BackofBeyond]

If the house has a septic system, insist the seller pump the tank out and have it inspected.

 

[LuketheDog]

I'm a real estate broker, and I can tell you that many of the homebuyers who later complain about items missed during inspections are the same people who wanted the cheapest inspector they could find. I also have a background in construction and construction defect investigation, so my clients have always had a leg up on what to look out for, but the vast majority of buyers are clueless. I always tell them to remember a house is the most expensive thing you'll ever buy in your life, so why not kick all the tires before you sign the paperwork? Don't rush to close, do some research and find a good inspector. Depending on the jurisdiction, inspectors are not required to look at everything, but make sure you are aware of radon, water damage/intrusion/drainage/staining, well certification, roofing condition, foundation cracks or settling, sewer lines, and any things that look like they've been very recently repaired. Read the inspection report and ask questions if you have any!

Also, do NOT rely on the seller property disclosure sheet for accurate information. My wife and I were under contract on a house 5 years ago and we found that over 30% of the roof trusses had been broken by snow loads. We let the sellers know and they were unwilling to cooperate on a fix so we walked. That house has been sold twice now without having the trusses repaired, so I know at least one of those sellers completely lied about knowing there was a serious structural defect, and possibly two inspectors have missed the problem. Keep your eyes open...

 

[Aperventure]

Lots of good advice here already.

The inspector covers 200-300 items in 3-4 hours before they have to run to afternoon inspection and deliver you a boilerplate report; which is why it isn’t very expensive $600-1200 + add-ones. It’s Comprehensive, but not deep on the most expensive stuff you’ll want to focus on:
wear items; roof & HVAC/HWH
Structural items; foundation, joists
Site items; pavement, slope & grade, retaining walls
Elecrrical age & condition
Plumbing age & conditions

Sure, the inspectors will find 50-70% of items from above, but some will be overlooked as it’s impossible to know all the stuff about all the stuff, and the details you will want will be lacking.

What is useful life remaining of roof?
5-10 years.
Then roof requires replacement in 2 years. Or it lasts 15 years. Both ways happen a lot. You just only hear of the 2 year roof, not the 15 year roof

Splurge for the radon (if there is a basement. No basement, no problem),
Mold, meth, sewer, termites (if common in your area). Will add $2-400.

Most of the items found will be “loose knob” or “range works” or “light switch missing screw”

So this is to say, if you find yourself handy, spend 2 hrs there yourself first. A good Realtor will work to make it happen if you are serious about putting in an offer. But not for every house.

Dont follow inspector around, but ask alot of questions yourself during presentation. It’s better to let them be the expert and ask ask ask.

 

[mdhunter]

Lot's of good already mentioned. I also have a house currently under contract. The home inspector charged me $575 and was super through. He definitely found items that could have easily be missed. I also spent a couple bucks on a termite and HVAC inspection. The property is on city services otherwise I would have had the septic inspected. Good luck with your purchase!