Best Reasons For Getting A Home Inspection

There are a myriad reasons to get a home inspection. Whether you are buying or selling, your Etobicoke Real Estate Agent can help you find a reputable professional home inspector who can reveal positive and negative things about the home you are thinking of purchasing. Even if you are planning on renovating or retrofitting, an in-depth home inspection can uncover issues that may need to be addressed.

Don’t judge a book by its cover

Especially for those buying newer constructions, a home inspection may feel like a waste of money. Even if the home is newer there can be serious problems unknown to the average purchaser. Issues with plumbing, wiring or structural issues may not be evident during a showing and you’ll want to get the advice of an expert. Even before you tour the interior of the home, you can do your own preliminary inspection. Simply take a few minutes to walk around the home’s exterior to see if anything jumps out at you. Here are four potential problems you may encounter:

1. Rotten or damaged siding.
2. Water pooling around the house.
3. Broken gutters.
4. Peeling paint.

There are many choices when it comes to choosing a reputable home inspector when purchasing a home. The inspector you choose should be able to inspect everything from insulation, plumbing, wiring, mould and damage due to termites to name a few items.

Here is a comprehensive list of what you can expect to be addressed by your home inspector:

1. Outdated electrical wiring (as well as “homemade” retrofits are inspected for safety.
2. Roofing problems as well as attic issues are assessed based on performance and age.
3. HVAC systems (heating and cooling units) are tested and scrutinised.
4. Plumbing issues such as water leaks as well as any water intrusion and damage as a result.
5. A home energy evaluation based on thermal insulation, air leakage and ventilation.
6. Air leakage is measured in the building envelope (doors, windows and structural cracks).
7. Building drainage, downspouts and roof gutters are checked for efficient operation.
8. Indoor environmental issues are addressed. Air quality and mould growth.

To use a home inspector or not: An Etobicoke Real Estate Agent’s View

Having a home inspection may ultimately save you money in the long run. Home inspection costs vary, a good rule of thumb would be to expect to pay between $400 to $650 depending on the size and age of the home. That’s a lot of money, but a good way to look at it is, if you decide to skip out on the initial expense of a home inspection it may cost you a lot more to have to rewire the whole house down the road.

The bottom line

Any Etobicoke Real Estate Agent will probably recommend having a professional home inspection done. It can be valuable when selling a property, buying a property or even undertaking renovations.

Here are some examples of full home inspections and summary reports. Summary reports are usually provided to be used as a broad overview while full inspection reports go into greater detail.

Home Inspection Sample Reports

Example 1:

• Full Inspection Report
• Summary Report

Example 2:

• Full Inspection Report
• Summary Report

If you’d like to discuss the relative merits of obtaining a home inspection an Etobicoke real estate agent can help. Call Leslie Brlec today. She’ll help you find the right inspector for you.