What to expect: Home buyers sometimes buy their home on impulse. Home inspectors can help homebuyers avoid buyers’ remorse by reporting home defects and problems before the buyer finds them after closing. Professional home inspectors help homebuying clients with the tools they need to make an informed decision regarding the quality and condition of their potential new home. Home buyers should be careful to hire the most experienced home inspector they can afford and make sure the person they hire has only their best interests in mind. Inspectors who rely on real estate agents for references sometimes have moral dilemmas.

Benefits for Buyers: A professional home inspection is the best way for prospective home buyers to effectively assess the risks of purchasing a property. One of the main concerns of home buyers is suddenly facing major and expensive problems after taking possession of a property. A professional pre-purchase home inspection can reduce anxiety by spotting problems and detailing them in a comprehensive report. This report may include repair cost estimates and recommendations for useful improvements to proprietary systems. The overall result of a professional home inspection is that home buyers make significantly more informed purchases.

Problem detection: all houses have strengths and weaknesses, they are not always what they seem. Get the perspective and solid information you need to make better decisions with a home inspection by an experienced professional home inspector. A good home inspector works through a lengthy checklist of potential concerns to identify the major and minor deficiencies in the home. A good report will clearly describe the problems and illustrate them along with what to do and how to fix them.

Provide Benefits to Homeowners: Homeowners planning to make improvements to their homes to increase their market value are encouraged to have their homes inspected first. Home inspectors can help prioritize home improvements and offer advice on the best ways to approach repairs. More importantly, an inspector can help the seller identify potential or undiscovered problems before those problems become material to contract contingencies. By taking a proactive approach, the frustrations many homeowners experience when asked to renegotiate their contracts due to unforeseen problem areas can be avoided.

Credentials: Like any other professional, home inspectors (even those with licenses) have varying degrees of experience. All home inspectors must be carefully screened. Inspectors learn from experience. It takes a few thousand inspections and more than a few complaints for home inspectors to LEARN what it takes to satisfy customers.

Recently passed legislation allows New Jersey home inspectors to become licensed with as little as three weeks of classroom training and just one week in actual homes. The license is a minimum qualification. Be sure to ask for resume! Believe it or not, the standards in many states are LOWER!

Many people without specific home inspection credentials offer home inspection services. Also, credentials are not always what they seem. Engineering and architecture credentials alone do not prepare anyone to competently inspect homes and communicate findings. A helping attitude, good communication skills, and mature judgment should complement technical competence. Be sure to work with a company that has a contract that specifies both what is inspected and what limitations apply.

Additional services such as those listed below are generally NOT included in the standard home inspection and are available for an additional fee.

Code Compliance: To determine what changes and improvements are necessary to bring the home into compliance with modern (or when built) building, fire, plumbing, zoning, mechanical, and electrical codes and to determine if permits and clearance have been obtained. inspection required when the changes were made. to home

Engineering analysis: structural, heating, cooling, soils, electrical, geology, site, investigate latent structural defects or problems, assess condition of playground equipment, determine if private waste disposal systems are functional, determine if overhangs are safe, assess traffic density and noise, assess insulation efficiency, conduct a floodplain review and issue a flood risk certification, assess easements and encroachments, determine the amount and cost of replacement of wood necessary for rot, aging, water infiltration and insect damage.

Hazardous Materials: To determine the presence or absence of: asbestos, lead paint, lead in water, formaldehyde, radon gas, lead paint, fungus, mold, water and air quality, toxic or allergenic substances, flammable materials, underground oil or fuel tanks and other environmental hazards.

Pest Assessment: To determine the presence of animal, rodent, termite, pest, or insect infestations and make an opinion on the cost of repairing damage caused by these infestations.

Pool and Spa – To assess needed changes and improvements to pools, pool equipment, gates, and fences.

Plumbing – to determine the condition and necessary improvements and repairs to drain pipe, sewer main, supply pipe, vent, shower trays and tub walls, lawn and fire sprinklers, water wells (quality and quantity of water) underground condition and under slab pipe.

Electrical: To determine the condition and necessary upgrades and repairs of the electrical system, telephone system wiring, intercom system, security systems, heat detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, smoke detectors, provide a circuit mapping, determine the capacity of the electrical system, the adequacy of the ground connection, perform voltage tests, to evaluate electromagnetic fields, check voltage drops and impedance of the circuit.

Chimney Sweep – Check chimney condition, wood stove safety, and perform Level II chimney inspections as recommended by the National Fire Protection Association.

Appraisal: determine the value of the building and its suitability for its intended use, consult the urban planning ordinances and issue an opinion on the convenience of its purchase.

Mechanical Contractor: Determine heating and cooling system sizing adequacy and provide efficiency measurements, provide underground storage tank assessment, perform heat exchanger leak test, check condition of evaporator coils, determine airflow velocity and balance the system.

Appliance Service Person – Test and calibrate oven and range temperatures, test for microwave leaks, check to determine if appliances are secured to floor as required.

Roofing Contractor: More detailed evaluation of roofing, flashing, chimney, high ladder roof inspection, and detailed evaluation of roofing life expectancy, repairability vs. replacing

Home buyers are advised to ensure that they carefully check all of the following items. If any of these issues occur after you purchase the home, the issues came with the home and are now YOURS (no costly litigation).

GENERAL

Were all your questions answered by the home inspector?

Have all of your questions for the homeowner been answered in writing?

Have previously agreed repairs been professionally carried out?

Have guarantees and warranties been given for the agreed repairs?

Were the home inspectors’ recommendations to perform all recommended additional inspections and intrusive inspections? If not, the risks may be more than most buyers’ budgets can bear.

EXTERIOR

Check the operation of windows and screens?

Has the accumulation of water near the building stopped?

Check doors, terraces, siding, windows and fences for damage or deterioration?

Are there signs of water infiltration from the roof, siding, or windows?

Are there any signs of problems with the gutters or downspouts?
Do the downspouts discharge water away from the foundation?

Has the earth around the house been removed from the foundation?

INSIDE

Have all areas listed on the home inspection report as inaccessible or non-traversed been accessed and professionally inspected for defects?

Do the garage doors and their openers work?

Have reversing devices for garage door openers been tested?

Did you find out why there are stains or cracks in any of the walls or ceilings that have become larger or have appeared since the time of the home inspection?

Have all broken windows or mirrors been repaired?

Have all double pane windows been replaced?

Are all permanently installed fixtures or appliances in place and in good condition?

Are there signs of birds, rodents or animals?
Has any damage to the walls, floor or ceiling been repaired?

PLUMBING

Do plumbing fixture faucets leak or leak?

Are plumbing fixtures chipped or damaged?

Did you run water for a while through all the plumbing fixtures and check for leaks?

Did you run water for a while through all the plumbing fixtures and check for blockages?

ELECTRIC

Are all light fixtures in place?

Are all light fixtures, switches, and receptacles working?

Does the doorbell work?

HEATING AND COOLING

Are the thermostat and heating and cooling systems working?

Is there adequate airflow through the heating and cooling registers?

Did all radiators or convectors heat up in a reasonable amount of time?

KITCHEN ROOM

Do all appliances work properly?

Are countertops or cabinets damaged?

Do the cabinets and drawers work?

Please complete this checklist during your tour and review it with your attorney prior to closing on the property. Most inspection companies do not accept responsibility for changes and problems that occur after the home inspection is done. However, take the time to carefully and thoroughly go through your pre-settlement walk. Contact the home inspection company if you have any questions.

Michael Del Greco is president of Accurate Inspections, Inc. A New Jersey home inspection company, he has performed thousands of home inspections in New Jersey since 1993, taught New Jersey home inspector licensing classes and CEU classes for New Jersey home inspectors, as well as participated in developing questions for the National Home Inspector Exam. The home inspector’s resume can be viewed at http://www.accurateinspections.com/michael2.htm