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.
@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’m not trying to give you shit here OP, you did what you did 4 years ago and you’re thinking of doing something about it now so it’s all good, but:
this is so astronomically expensive every penny saved is good…”
This is so astronomically expensive that I can’t imagine caring about 300 bucks to see if anything is horrifically wrong with it. Seriously folks, get an inspection if you’re buying a house! This would be like, I dunno, taking a job without talking to a single person who works there, except at least with the job you can quit without wasting thousands of dollars! The inspection could save your life!
I might have cancer but it’s so expensive to actually find out. I’d rather just ride it out and wait until the damage becomes irreversible…
Get the inspection!!
I can only provide anecdotal experience, but my old girl found her dream house. Old mining cottage type terraced house, immaculate renovation inside, great hillside views, nice enough place overall…
…she instructed her surveyor to have a look and he told her to run like fuck, the shared wall was pretty much the only thing keeping the house upright - his words were clearly a reduction of some larger issues, but that saved a repair and insurance nightmare.
They’re pricey, yes - but they can save you an exponentially larger amount of money.
I was saved by an inspection as well. Not to pile on but you should just get it done OP. Also FUCK YOUR REALTOR (they’re very sleazy/immoral - you should not have coitus with them). There are several reasons why realtors hate inspections and any good realtor will insist you get one.
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.
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.
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.
When you buy a used car through a private party, you have a mechanic check it over for two reasons:
- You want to make sure you aren’t overpaying (because repairs are needed)
- You want to make sure it’s safe and doesn’t need immediate maintenance
It’s the same for a house. The first one is moot: you already bought it and can’t go back. But the second one still applies - it would be good to get it looked over.
that realtor did you dirty. “I looked around and it was fine”?? please don’t use them ever again. that’s sketchy and dishonest. no reputable realtor without something to hide would say that. I would report them to the state realtor board.
get the inspection. and when it’s time to sell, get another one.
