If you have been doing your research you may have heard that when buying a house that a home inspection is imperative. And it’s true!  If you’ ve found your dream home in San Antonio, you may be temped to forego the inspection. This is a big mistake! Keep in mine that the home has been “dressed up” to accentuate it’s best features and minimize potention flaws.

Many sellers have had inspectors and appraisers look at the home for purposes of the sale, and are aware (or should be) that buyers will likely ask for another inspection independent of their own. Below is more information on why inspections are necessary, what to look for during house inspections (as well as inspectors), and when to have homes inspected.

Why Home Inspections are Important

You’ve seen the shiny buffed floors and sparkling granite countertops, and maybe you’ve even flushed all the toilets, but before you make that final decision and agree to take on a mortgage, you need to make sure that everything you don’t see is in good working order. You’ll want to make sure the heating or A/C unit is in good running order, the foundation isn’t silently cracking, and the roof isn’t about to spring a huge leak. If you arrange for a house inspection by a professional before the sale goes through, the problem is still the seller’s. If you choose not to have a home inspection done, the problem, unfortunately, becomes yours.

The number of home inspections performed increases each year and according to the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI), over 90% of home sales involve a house inspection. While this number doesn’t differentiate between a seller-based inspection and buyer-based inspection, it certainly indicates the significance of home inspections in the buying process.

According to home inspectors, homes are sometimes not particularly well cared for by homeowners, who are slow to fix leaky faucets or replace heating or A/C filters. If homes with homeowners living in the property can be uncared for, imagine what conditions a foreclosed home can hide. Mold can grow if the water hasn’t been turned off and the environment becomes moist. If the home is boarded up and there is no ventilation for weeks or months, black mold can grow fairly quickly.

Because of the importance of a proper house inspection, you should make the purchase of the home contingent on your approval of a home inspector’s report. When making a written offer for the home, simply make the home inspection a condition of the purchase. If your home inspection comes back clean, you can proceed with the sale with confidence. And if the report is negative, you can reduce your offer, make the seller pay for any repairs, or even back out of the contract altogether.

What a Home Inspection Entails

It is important for buyers to know what they should expect when paying for a home inspection. Because there is no uniform certification or licensing process for inspectors (more on that below), home inspections vary according to the person or company that does them. Generally, a home inspection will include a report on the type (and relative health, where possible) of the house’s heating and cooling system, electrical system, plumbing, walls, ceilings, flooring, foundation, roofing, drainage, and basement.

Because home inspectors are not licensed in most states, inspections will typically not include analysis for problems which licensed professionals generally give advice. These issues include termites, chemicals and gasses (such as asbestos or methane gas), lead, or rodents. You should inquire into the presence of such problems. Inspectors may be more willing to share such information “off the record” (because of their lack of certification in a particular area) and then you can call a professional in that field to give a written analysis.

For example, you might ask an inspector if there is a termite problem, and he may tell you that there’s a good chance of it but not put it in his report. It would be incumbent upon you to get a pest inspection of the house to get an official report.

Note that a home inspection generally covers only moderate to serious issues and does not detail each and every scratch and dent in the home. If you want a more exacting report, you should discuss this with your inspector (a higher fee is likely) and walk through the home with him during the inspection if possible. Not only will you learn more about the process and what to look for, he may give you information on small flaws that he may not include in a report but you might want to be aware of for the future.

A house inspection will run about $200 to $500, depending on the person doing the inspection and factors such as the size of the home, age and type of home.

It may be tempting to skip this expense or to ignore the problems with a home that you are so anxious about buying, but it’s important to have an informed, helpful realtor and experienced inspector at your side to make sure you know what you are buying!

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