The process of purchasing or selling a home can be fraught with anxiety, twists, and turns. The home inspection often feels like one of those hurdles. However, by being present at the home inspection and asking plenty of questions, you can take charge of your home inspection and feel confident moving forward. Our team at InspectPros, Inc. recommends that you ask your home inspector (at minimum) these three questions.
1. Do you know of any concerns in the neighborhood or region?
If you’re new to an area, you may not be aware of concerns specific to that neighborhood or region. For example, if the house is in a flood zone, you may want to ask whether that area had any flood damage in recent years. Other areas of the country have to be concerned about foundation issues, sinkholes, insect damage, and so on. Find out what type of regional “red flags” your inspector may be on the lookout for. He may also suggest additional add-on inspections like mold testing or an infrared inspection.
2. How old is the HVAC?
If the home’s HVAC is outdated, you may be looking at system repairs or a replacement in the near future. You want to find out the age of the HVAC system and its current condition. You want to factor the age of the HVAC and any other major system repairs into your contract negotiations.
3. What’s the biggest concern with this property?
Most likely, after you complete the property inspection, you will want to go back to the seller with reparation requests or further contract negotiations. However, you don’t want to major on the minors. Find out from your home inspector what he feels are the major issues. We highlight these big-money repairs on the executive summary of your inspection report so you can have them in writing.
These three questions may lead to follow-up questions, but we encourage our customers to ask any and every question so they can have confidence in their real-estate decisions. To find out more or to schedule your home inspection, contact InspectPros today at (805) 484-9711. InspectPros is a professional residential and commercial inspection company serving residents and business owners in Ventura, Santa Barbara, and Thousand Oaks, CA.
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