Was 25 and super nervous, so when the realtor was like “oh yeah they just check for basic stuff, but I looked around and it looks great” I was like “Oh okay, this is so astronomically expensive every penny saved is good…”
Everything has been great as far as I can tell. House was built like 40 years ago but super well maintained it seemed and I’ve been super happy. But just curious if maybe I should hire someone to make sure there was nothing outstanding from back then, and no major issues have popped up in the last couple years like leaks/foundation issues, the like.
Is that crazy? Is it weird to call and be like “I’m not selling, I just wanna make sure there are no issues I need to address before they get worse”
Is there a certain type of inspector I should get? I know some inspectors are notoriously lazy.
Also I moved in 2 weeks before covid lock downs happened for time line stuff.
There are at-least 2 good books on house-inspecting.
( looking … dayum, there’s zillions of books on it, now… )
https://www.amazon.com/Inspecting-House-Pros-Rex-Cauldwell/dp/1561584622/
is the one I invested-in, years ago ( not to do house-inspection, just to learn the competence of it )
Please invest in that book, or an equivalent to it, and make your own inspection of the house, 1st.
Then you’ll have much better understanding of the entire subject.
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Always make the sale contingent on an inspection (and also on the sale of your current house,)
A full inspection covers all sorts of things, many of which are regulated and mandated in specific locations. Here’s a basic article on it
It’s not weird to get one if you haven’t before, and it’s a good idea. They can also point out code violations (and I’m not sure how expensive that can get… they may mandate you fix it. It may just be a reconditioned you fix it.)(and if you ever need to get a permit, the mandatory inspection that frequently happens with that is a bad time to find out.)
They can also point out code violations (and I’m not sure how expensive that can get… they may mandate you fix it
That’s a reason not to get it tho…
My Mom sold without an inspection because of little things like putting a ceiling fan on a dimmer to control the speed of the fan.
Everything was done by licensed contractors, just small town bullshit where people do what they want. Especially when a house hasn’t been sold for 50 years, small stuff like that adds up until a sale happens.
Could she have updated everything that was like that before the sale? Sure, but it would have been a huge hassle and in today’s market she could just sell “as is” with no hit to price.
Now, as a buyer would I trust a seller I didn’t know?
Fuck no.
But I grew up in that house, I know what happened.
Everything was done by licensed contractors, just small town bullshit where people do what they want. Especially when a house hasn’t been sold for 50 years, small stuff like that adds up until a sale happens.
Could she have updated everything that was like that before the sale? Sure, but it would have been a huge hassle and in today’s market she could just sell “as is” with no hit to price.
First off… depending on how the dimmer switch controls speed, that could be a great way to burn out a fan- most switches are for lights and adjust voltage. Fan motors expect a certain voltage and instead use amperage to adjust speed.
That’s why typical dimmer switches violate code.
It’s not something virtually any inspector is going to gig you harshly on (compared to say a severe gas leak.)
It’d also something you’re going to want to know about if you ever have to remodel or potentially sell.
As a seller, there are usually mandatory disclosure laws. Failing to disclose something that’s found after they move in- even in “as is”‘contracts can potentially lead to massive legal costs. The kind that, even if you win, you still lose.
But the OP’s perspective is as a buyer, not a seller and the games you’re talking about playing… yeah. That’s exactly why buyers should always make it contingent on inspection.
But the OP’s perspective is as a buyer,
You didn’t even make it all the way thru my comment before deciding to weigh in, did you?
Now, as a buyer would I trust a seller I didn’t know?
Fuck no.
This isn’t the first time I’ve seen your account do this stupid shit, but it’s the last time I’ll ever see you do anything.
Or most of the west coast, or pretty much any major city st this point it seems.
Uhhhhhh. You paid for a house without getting it inspected? I’m shocked you were able to get homeowners insurance without one.
The entire point of getting an inspection done is to save yourself money. Find someone local who’s thorough and have them go over the house and look for any issues, it’ll be cheaper to fix them now rather than after something fails and there’s major damage.
Depends on where you live.
The bank will often send an inspector for a loan, but it’s literally him just walking around and validating there is a house and it’s not in shambles. He’ll look at things like the roof from the outside and when it was redone, but isn’t going to hop into your crawlspace to look for signs of water damage.
Then you have the “private” inspection company that you can pay to check your home for yourself. These companies are know to cost a lot of money, often detailing things they can’t be sure are “risks”. They’ll go in the crawlspace and note all sorts of things.
On my house the expensive private inspection said “the roof here is kinda saggin and there’s a bump there, it could be anything”. In the same report he accidentally shows a picture from under the roof where you can see there was a repair and some extra framing, causing the small “bump” that is purely aesthetic. Didn’t mention that part.
Getting someone to look at it post purchase is likely going to be much cheaper, and I’m definitely not recommending people don’t get inspections when buying houses if they don’t know what they’re doing.
For my first house, the bank’s inspector literally stopped his van in the middle of the road, took some pictures with his cell phone through the driver’s window, and drove off. He never even left his vehicle.
Pretty much all my bank inspector did as well. He didn’t even inspect the electrical outlets because there was furniture in the way that he couldn’t be arsed moving.
My paid for inspection was done by a different person and they did all sorts. He even pointed out that the hole in the roof, was a hole in the roof, which was very helpful. The bank inspector never even noticed the hole.
The housing market was silly for awhile. Lots of homes basically had a clause of “If inspection done, no sale”
Yeah, that’s a trap. We signed a letter of intent on one place and had an inspector run through it before we committed to an offer - it’s fortunate that we did too, there was serious water damage to the house that the owners were trying not to disclose.
The shit thing about the market for a couple of years is that properties were marked up by 40-50% over about 5y and many of them had next to no work done, or they got the Lowe’s sale flipper special and looked terrible after.
I was looking during that rush, and did my own inspections. Every single place, I asked questions that resulted in a “NEXT!” from the seller. Never even got to the point where I’d have called in an outside party. Looked at around 30 houses.
Ended up buying a new build instead; still had things the inspectors missed, but nothing huge.
@ericbomb Don’t get one now to make up for what you skipped back then, get one now as a checkup for what you might need to fix and for what you need to keep an eye on.
And don’t be surprised at the prices on actual fixes not just shitty band-aids. They’re crazy expensive.
Ex. My home builder didn’t put a sump pump in our new build (and honestly, they should’ve forced us to have a few) and we didn’t know this would be an issue. In the monsoon season we got flooding, yay. A permanent fix with a lifetime warranty of 3 sumps was $25K. If we had put it in during building it would’ve been a few thousand. Peace of mind is typically gonna cost you.
If you have a basement I’d recommend they check the foundation. Have a plumber check your system (PRV, expansion tank, water heater, valves, toilets, drain lines). If it’s an older house have them check the electrical panel and wiring. They don’t last forever and can cause fires. How is the roof doing? HVAC system? Etc. Find an inspector that can do a thorough inspection because they’re are some lazy ones out there or people who just don’t know what to really look for. Ideally you contact each trade to give you an in depth diagnosis.
I bought during the height of the housing frenzy in Canada in 2021. Putting any condition on the sale meant that you wouldn’t get the house. I found a few issues but took the chance anyways. As soon as the sale went through, I got an inspector in to check out everything I found. I got lucky for the most part, but there were a few things that he found that I didn’t. It’s better to know these things and plan for them than to be oblivious.
Get the inspection. It’s not weird at all. They are all aware of the current situation.
our inspection saved us money. they found a crack in the outdoor tiling sealant that was retaining water. we spent $200 on their services, but their report helped us regotiate $5000 off our initial offer, which we had repaired for ~$500. for anybody tossing it up, it’s a no-brainer.
I saved 50k on my house because some private company was hired to do an inspection and they noted a 40 page report with all sorts of shit that wasn’t really important.
Nobody wanted to buy it after that. Luckily I build houses so I know what to look for and cut him a deal to get rid of it. Aside from having an electrician come in to double check all the aluminum wiring connections (and making plans to replace the aluminium wires), not one thing in those 40 pages should have affected the price of the house.
Oh they definitely like to list absolutely everything.
When I bought my house the only thing really on the report that was worth worrying about was the hole in the roof which I already knew about.
Everything else was basically along the lines of, the electrics are a bit old and not the current standard, or the guttering is rotted and needs replacing.
All things that definitely need looking at in the due course of time, but can be ignored for at least a couple of years.
