What to Do After a Home Inspection

Now that you have had a home inspection now what do you do? There are 40 pages of information to read in the inspection report.

Ok, the first thing is that hopefully you chose an inspector that gives you a thorough report preferably with pictures and who prints the report on site so you do not have to wait for it for days. A typical inspection of a small condominium (about 1000 square feet) will take roughly one and a half hours and a small house about two and a half hours. This can vary quite a bit though depending on the condition of the house, whether it has a crawl space or slab foundation, attic, etc.

Now you have the report. Read it fully. Many people do not. Keep it for your bedtime reading. Use a highlighter and highlight points that you either have questions about or that you want the seller to handle before you actually close the deal.

Once the report is fully read, go over it with your agent. Now you can prepare a list of items that you want the seller to fix, repair or replace or to give you credit for. This is beyond the scope of the inspection but the inspection information can be used along with your agent to come up with a plan in approaching the seller.

Also do not hesitate to contact your inspector on any questions you may have on the report whether you think they may be silly questions or not. Any inspector worthy of the name should be very willing to receive any question you may have and clarify them for you. If he does not you know one thing. You chose the wrong home inspector.

Remember that a home inspector is not a god and that it is not impossible for him to make a mistake. He should not preferably make one on a major item however. Realize that in the course of a day he looks at hundreds and hundreds of things if not a thousand that when all put together makes up his report.

A house is a physical item. Once you purchase it it will not stay the same. It will start to wear and need general maintenance. If the roof is not routinely maintained, eventually it will leak. If the heating and cooling system is not maintained it will not last its expected serviceable life. Everything has an expected lifespan and if not maintained or replaced when needed will result in a deteriorating scene.

Do not come looking to the inspector in 3 years when your roof is leaking and in the report it states that the roof is approaching the end of its serviceable life and it is recommended that a qualified roofing professional be consulted for further evaluation and you have done nothing to maintain it or repair it where needed and did not consult a roofing professional as recommended. The inspector will just refer you back to the recommendations he put in the report.

People have different viewpoints about how to treat their possessions. Some let them deteriorate in general. Some will upgrade to todays highest standards. And there are all sorts of in-betweens. Hopefully you will have a clear picture of where your seller stands once you receive the home inspection.

You know that you do not have to be buying a house. It can be used by a home owner for home improvement to find those areas that need attention that you might not be aware of and to handle them before they become larger issues.

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