Home inspector

Why You Should Hire a Home Inspector?
Think Twice Before Making an Unconditional Offer
So you found the perfect home. Even if this property has stolen your heart, it is important to have a home inspector examine the home to know just what you are purchasing, and that there are no unwelcome surprises.
You might know a thing or two about home remodeling and repairs. You may be an HDTV addict, and think you would spot any potential problems. However, unless you are not experts on the inner workings of a home, you should hire a home inspector to search for potential furnace issues, electrical wiring mishaps, plumbing weaknesses or roofing deterioration to name a few. In addition, hiring a home inspector helps you budget for future repairs, or may allow you to reduce the purchase price if the inspection reveals defects.
In today’s market, many purchasers are getting caught up in the bidding wars, and pressures to make a “clean” offer. In other words, they are not placing any conditions on their offer and waiving their right to have a home inspector examine the home.
Some vendors have already gone through the expense of a home inspection in order to attract clean offers. I recommend that you read inspection report carefully, and make sure to ask questions of the sellers if you uncover any issues. Of course, you can still make the offer conditional on your own inspection, if you feel that you want another opinion. Keep in mind that not all home inspectors are created equal. If there is something that troubles you, or that is of particular concern, you may want to arrange your own home inspection.

When to Schedule the Home Inspection
It’s important to make the purchase conditional on a home inspection. There will be a date by which you have to wave all conditions in the Agreement of Purchase and Sale. Make sure you schedule a home inspection before this period has ended. Even though you’ve signed the offer, an inspector could just find something that you just cannot live with or afford to fix.
Even if you think you know a lot about the structure, plumbing and wiring of houses, don’t let this stop you from getting a second opinion. Sometimes emotions get the best of us, and it is possible to miss something. You’d hate to end up with a home that needs major renovations that you would have known about had you hired a home inspector.
If you are worried that you will not get the property if you do not make a “clean offer”, there is another option. You can have the home inspection completed prior to making the offer. With permission of the vendor of course. The risk is that your offer is not accepted, and the price of the inspection was for nothing. However, it could also save you from costly surprises in the future.
Note: It is important to remember that a home inspector can only provide valuable insight in regards to visible defects in the property. They cannot see behind walls. If there are any issues that are not visible without tearing down walls or looking under the floors, they will not be in the home inspector’s report. This is why it is important to ask questions of the seller and his/her agent.