Why Homes Need a Home Inspection

Why the Home Inspection is Important

What You Should Expect from the Home Inspection Report

While buying a home can be a large investment and often times the biggest one you will make, it is exciting and yet can also be very stressful. Whether you’re a home buyer or the home seller considering putting your home on the market, you will need to get the home inspected by a professional, licensed home inspector. You want to learn as much as you can about the home (newly constructed or existing) before you buy (or sell) it. So, let us answer a few questions we at Inspect360 are often asked.

What is a Home Inspection?

A home inspection is an independent, unbiased, objective evaluation of the physical structure and systems of the home from the roof to the foundation. While many people have home inspections done every year or so, the most common time to inspect a home is when it is changing hands from one owner to the next where a home inspection report is required for the transaction. The home inspection report details the condition of the systems and components of the house at the time of the inspection from a professional home inspector.

What does a Home Inspection Report cover?

The home inspection report will review the condition of the home’s foundation, grading and drainage, central heating and air conditioning system (temperature permitting), electrical systems, plumbing, walls, windows, ceilings, floors, doors, roof, attic, insulation and overall structure. Additional services can be performed outside the typical home inspection such as termite, pool and septic systems by one of our certified specialists. The items inspected are measured against current construction methods and industry standards and regulations. We are not inspecting a home for code compliance (we are not code inspectors) and certainly most existing homes would not meet the standards of code that are in place today; but out of concern for your safety and our standards of practice, we note items that are considered deficient to today’s standards. We may suggest that further evaluation is recommended by a home services specialist. Since we are more ‘general practitioner’ in nature, specialist (structural engineer, licensed HVAC, licensed pest operator) may be needed to provide an ultimate conclusion to our findings. No house is perfect; even the new ones! The inspection information is not a pass or fail type of report. It is a tool to provide you the information to move forward through the process.

What do I do with the information?

The home inspection report can be an overwhelming amount of information at one time. It is our job to explain our findings and report them to you in a way that is easy to understand and identifies the current condition of the property. Our goal is to provide you with the knowledge about the home so you can make an informed decision about the house and what direction to take next. Inspecting the home prior to purchase or before you list the home for sale is the best way to avoid any surprises and gives you the confidence in making a sound decision. To view one of our sample home inspection reports, contact us at 469-224-0360. You can also follow us on Facebook, YouTube, Google, Twitter and LinkedIn to learn more about how Inspect360 helps home buyers, sellers, real estate professionals and many others throughout the home buying process.