What is a Home Inspection?

A home Inspection is a visual examination of a home conducted in a non-invasive and nondestructive manner and is a process of risk minimization. While it is Buyers who typically engage the services of a professional home inspection company, in reality both Buyers and Sellers benefit from the service. All parties to a real estate transaction want things to go smoothly with a minimum of surprises and unexpected costs or delays. For the Buyer, the home inspection provides an objective and unemotional analysis of the condition of the property. The inspection is conducted by a professional with years of experience who, generally speaking, has a far greater understanding of the complexities of construction and house systems than the typical home Buyer or Seller.

The home inspection not only reduces the stress and risk of home purchasing, many times it saves the transaction by keeping all parties informed. Most major defects found during an inspection were not known to the Sellers, and many times Buyers may decide not to buy a house once defects are found. Sellers who are wise enough to have their home inspected prior to placing it on the market enjoy a number of tangible benefits:

• You have more control over determining the type of repair and its cost
• You eliminate the risk of a Buyer getting cold feet over unexpected repairs because you have anticipated the problems and eliminated them before they became an issue
• You escape being forced into renegotiating the sale terms or having to schedule repairs under tight time constraints or contract deadlines.

It takes about 3-4 hours to conduct a thorough home inspection, and the cost is modest. It is definitely time and money well spent.