A Guide to Home Inspections

Authored By: Raynor James

Any Sally and Sam Homebuyer can look at a home and decide whether it is attractive. They might notice it is freshly painted in pleasing colors, has the requisite number of rooms, a cook’s kitchen and is located in a location with top schools. But what about less obvious parts of the house?

It takes special expertise to determine if the functional parts of a home are in good shape. If you attend an open house, how do you determine if there are plumbing problems, electrical problems, structural problems, drainage problems, the condition of heating and air conditioning equipment and the condition of literally hundreds of other items that could cause concern?

Enter the home inspector.

A home inspector is trained to be a detective in regard to the construction and working parts of homes. It is not an exact science.

The home inspector cannot tear into things, so they can’t always see everything they’d like to. They do, however, come equipped with ladders, strong flashlights, and devices to measure various things related to plumbing, electrical and other necessary home items. Importantly, a home inspector will also typically bring a digital camera to photograph problems such as roof shingles not lying flat, signs of mildew from leaking pipes and construction that doesn’t comply with building codes. They don’t miss much.

It’s a good idea for the buyer to be present during the home inspection. If you ask them to, home inspectors will usually explain how things work to you. This is important as they can show you where cut off valves are, how to remove filters for cleaning or replacement and tell you how often various maintenance chores need to be done. This information can be very valuable if you ultimately purchase the property.

It’s also a good idea to ask the home inspector if there are any particular tests they would perform if they were buying the home. For example, radon gas (a colorless, odorless gas which is a carcinogen) can be a problem in some parts of the country. It can be detected, measured, and, if levels are above EPA standards, there are procedures to deal with it successfully. A home inspector can help identify such issues for you.

It’s easy to see that a home inspection can provide a wealth of valuable information. While it is easy to fall in love with a listed home, a home inspector can be the key to avoiding disastrous discoveries down the line.

Raynor James is with the FSBO site - FSBOAmerica.org - FSBO homes for sale by owner. Visit our home buying page to view and buy homes, houses, condos, land and real estate or visit our real estate articles page to read more articles.

Article Source: http://www.FinanceNook.com
Your One-Stop Quality Finance Article Source

Home | Real Estate

Read Additional Related Articles from the Real Estate Category

Listed below are more articles related to the above article.

People interested in the above article "A Guide to Home Inspections" are also interested in the related articles listed below:

Take A Real Estate Course And Change Your Life - By : Tomas Morkenson
Ecuador - A Booming Real Estate Market - By : Michael Russell
Home Sellers: How Much Should You Spend to Get Your Home Ready to Sell? - By : Jeanette Joy Fisher
How to Convert to a Primary Residence after a 1031 Exchange - By : Jeanette Joy Fisher
Can You Do It By Yourself? - By : Kevin Co
Selling Real Estate - 1st Impressions: Ten Keys to Maximizing Profit - By : Jeff Morrow
Miami Money Talks - By : Jason Atilia
An Industry Of Real Estate Foreclosures - It's Not What You Think - By : William Teleo
Can I Still Make Money If I Buy Real Estate Right Now? - By : Tomas Morkenson
Ever Wanted A Farm? - By : Analeese Burnabaker

Read more related articles in Home | Real Estate

Return Home

FinanceNook.com Home

Featured Sites

Internet Marketing
Website marketing strategies and tips for promoting a business online

Small Business Marketing
How to get more customers or clients than you ever dreamed possible

Social Bookmarking

Bookmark on del.icio.us

Popular Articles

RSS Feeds

FinanceNook.com Home | Top of Page

United States of America . United Kingdom . Canada . Afghanistan . Albania . Algeria . American Samoa . Andorra . Angola . Anguilla . Antarctica . Antigua & Barbuda . Argentina . Armenia . Aruba . Australia . Austria . Azerbaijan . Bahamas . Bahrain . Bangladesh . Barbados . Belarus . Belgium . Belize . Benin . Bermuda . Bhutan . Bolivia . Bosnia-Herzegovina . Botswana . Brazil . British Virgin Islands . Brunei Darrusalam. Bulgaria . Burkina Faso . Burundi . Cambodia . Cameroon . Cape Verde . Cayman Islands . Central African Republic . Chad . Chile . China . Colombia . Comoros . Congo . Congo (Dem. Rep.) . Cook Islands . Costa Rica . Côte d'Ivoire . Croatia . Cuba . Cyprus . Czech Republic . Denmark . Djibouti . Dominica . Dominican Republic . East Timor . Ecuador . Egypt . El Salvador . Equatorial Guinea . Eritrea . Estonia . Ethiopia . Falkland Islands and Dependencies . Faroe Islands . Fiji . Finland . France . French Guiana . French Polynesia . Gabon . Gambia . Georgia . Germany . Ghana . Gibraltar . Greece . Greenland . Grenada . Guadeloupe . Guam . Guatemala . Guinea . Guinea Bissau . Guyana . Haiti . Honduras . Hong Kong . Hungary . Iceland . India . Indonesia . Iran . Iraq . Ireland . Isle Of Man . Israel . Italy . Ivory Coast . Jamaica . Japan . Jordan . Kazakhstan . Kenya . Kiribati . Korea (North) . Korea (South) . Kuwait . Kyrgyzstan . Laos . Latvia . Lebanon . Lesotho . Liberia . Libya . Liechtenstein . Lithuania . Luxembourg . Macau . Macedonia . Madagascar . Malawi . Malaysia . Maldives . Mali . Malta . Marshall Islands . Martinique . Mauritania . Mauritius . Mexico . Micronesia (Federated States) . Moldova . Monaco . Mongolia . Morocco . Mozambique . Myanmar (Burma) . Namibia . Nauru . Nepal . Netherlands . Netherlands Antilles . New Caledonia . New Zealand . Nicaragua . Niger . Nigeria . Niue . Norfolk Island . Northern Mariana Islands . Norway . Oman . Pakistan . Palau . Palestine . Panama . Papua New Guinea . Paraguay . Peru . Philippines . Poland . Portugal . Puerto Rico . Qatar . Reunion . Romania . Russia . Rwanda . Sahara . Saint Helena . Saint Kitts and Nevis . Saint Lucia . Saint Pierre & Miquelon . Saint Vincent & The Grenadines . Samoa . San Marino . São Tomé & Príncipe . Saudi Arabia . Senegal . Serbia . Seychelles . Sierra Leone . Singapore . Slovakia . Slovenia . Solomon Islands . Somalia . South Africa . Spain . Sri Lanka . Sudan . Suriname . Swaziland . Sweden . Switzerland . Syria . Taiwan . Tajikistan . Tanzania . Thailand . Togo . Tongo . Trinidad & Tobago . Tunisia . Turkey . Turkmenistan . Tuvalu . Uganda . Ukraine . United Arab Emirates . Uruguay . Uzbekistan . Vanuatu . Vatican City (Holy See) . Venezuela . Vietnam . Yemen . Zaire . Zambia . Zimbabwe

Template Design by Larry Lim | Powered by Article Dashboard