Having a home inspection can cost a couple hundred dollars, but has the potential to save you tens of thousands. A home inspector, particularly one that is also a licensed general contractor or engineer, can see issues that the average person won’t recognize. Many wiring, plumbing, air-conditioning and roof issues can be seen in a thorough inspection. A home inspector will inspect every inch of the house from the roof to the foundation to ensure you know what your a getting in your new home. As much as we don’t like it, some sellers either don’t know or don’t want to disclose issues with the home in an attempt to sell quicker. Without an inspection you may end up spending much more for the house than what you bargained.
Here is an example:
Q: I bought a house about 4 years ago. We did not hire a professional home inspector, but instead used a contractor we trust to look over the home.
Recently, we noticed the corner of the garage was starting to sag. We called the insurance company, thinking it was due to a snow and ice problem, but the engineer they sent out said the problem had been there for a long time. He said the prior owners had known about it because they did a scab job in order to hide the problem that would come out later.
Our insurance company said they would not cover it because it was structural problem, not caused by a catastrophic event, like a huge snowstorm. The damage was caused over time.
He specifically wrote in his report that someone did a scab job to cover up a big problem. So, we spent over 7000 dollars fixing a problem that the sellers knew about, and did not disclose in their seller disclosure form.
Is there anything we can do about this now?
A: Unfortunately, the time to catch this problem would have been four years ago, when a professional home inspector might have found it.
Unless you can prove the sellers fraudulently deceived you, I think you just have to accept the fact that some people will do almost anything to get out of paying $7,000 to fix their roof.
These kinds of situations can be avoided if either the buyer or the seller have the home inspected. Especially in Florida, there are dozens of reasons to have an inspection. One of the best reasons is that in addition to uncovering major problems, there are cost savings on insurance if the home meets the increased wind resistance codes.
What should you look for in a good inspector? This article explains what you need to look for in a good home inspector.
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