Buyers Inspection

Buyer's Inspection's fall into two categories;  

Pre-Offer: inspections which allows you to have an inspection preformed prior to placing an offer on a property of your choice.

Pre-Purchase: which allows you to have the property inspected after you make your initial offer, but before closing.

Both inspections are designed to make you "the buyer" aware of any and all defects, whether they are major or minor at the time of the inspection.

The buyer's inspection 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 can make the experience a little overwhelming.  A buyer's home inspection is supposed to give you piece of mind, but often has the opposite effect.  The process can be stressful.

What should you do? --------- Relax.

Most of your home inspection report will be maintenance recommendations and minor imperfections.  These are nice to know about, but... 

The Issues that Really Matter will fall into Four Catagories:

• Major Defects: An example of this would be structural failure.
• Things that lead to major defects:  A small roof-flashing leak.
• Things that may hinder your ability to finance legally occupy or insure the home.
• Safety hazards, such as exposed buss bars in the electrical panel or gas leaks.

Anything in these categories should be addressed.  Often a serious problem can be corrected inexpensively to protect both life and property.

Inspected Items

• Roofs, vents, flashing and trim.
• Gutters and downspouts.
• Skylight, chimney and other roof penetrations.
• Decks, stoops. porches, walkways and railings.
• Eaves, soffits and fascia.
• Grading and drainage.
• Basement, foundation and crawlspace. 
• Water penetration and foundation movements.
• Heating and Cooling Systems.
• Main water shut off valves.
• Interior plumbing fixtures and faucets.
• Drainage sump pumps with accessible floats.
• Electrical service line and meter box.
• Main disconnects and service amperage.
• Electrical panels, breakers and fuses.
• Grounding and bonding.
• GFCI’s and AFCI’s.
• Fireplace damper door and hearth.
• Insulation and ventilation.
• Garage doors, safety sensors and openers.
• And much more…….