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Buying a home? The process can be stressful. A home inspection is
supposed to give you peace of mind, but often has the opposite
effect. You will be asked to absorb a lot of information in a short
time. This often includes a written report, checklist, photographs,
environmental reports and what the inspector himself says during the
inspection. All this combined with the seller's disclosure and what
you notice yourself makes the experience even more overwhelming.
What should you do?
Relax. Most of your inspection will be maintenance recommendations,
life expectancies and minor imperfections. These are nice to know
about. However, the issues that really matter will fall into four
categories:
1. Major defects. An example of this would be a structural failure.
2. Things that lead to major defects. A small roof-flashing leak,
for example.
3. Things that may hinder your ability to finance, legally occupy or
insure the home.
4. Safety hazards, such as an exposed, live buss bar at the electric
panel.
Anything in these categories should be addressed. Often a serious
problem can be corrected inexpensively to protect both life and
property (especially in categories 2 and 4). Most sellers are honest
and are often surprised to learn of defects uncovered during an
inspection.
Realize that sellers are under no obligation to repair everything
mentioned in the report. No home is perfect. Keep things in
perspective. Do not kill your deal over things that do not matter.
It is inappropriate to demand that a seller address deferred
maintenance, conditions already listed on the seller's disclosure or
nit-picky items.
The above is an excerpt from Sell Your Home For More by Nick
Gromicko. Copyright (C) 1997 Nick Gromicko |
