Why You Shouldn’t DIY A Home Inspection Before Buying A House
DIY activities or do-it-yourselfers are a great test of creativity and an excellent opportunity to overcome economic constraints. They can also be therapeutic or a fun leisure activity. However, as the DIY craze catches on and with more information about different technical jobs readily available on the internet, many believe almost any home improvement project can be completed swiftly and economically as a DIY.
If you’re purchasing a house and are thinking of inspecting a property yourself before making a final offer, you have a lot to consider before you go through with your decision. For starters, do you know the requisites for inspection, will your mortgage lender approve of this, or will your seller object? To give you an idea of how bad things could get without proper training or complete knowledge of the job, the experts at Lizotte Inspection Services have covered three reasons why you shouldn’t DIY a home inspection before buying a house.
1. Encountering safety hazards.
A home inspection involves the scrutiny of different household characteristics like basements, foundations, and crawlspace, appliances, HVAC systems, electrical panels, breakers and fuses, grounding, water valves, plumbing fixtures and faucets, and so much more. A person who is not informed about the safety precautions when inspecting a house could get a shock (or worse) when examining electrical panels. They could get injured if they walk into an old attic without an understanding of the condition of the floorboards there and the structure of the ceiling. They could also end up falling off the roof if they don’t come prepared with the right equipment.
2. Missing crucial details.
If an untrained person performs an inspection, they could miss critical details that could lead to expensive repair costs after they purchase a home. For example, there could be signs of mold or bug infestation, faulty wiring, structural damage, or a weak foundation. Missing these crucial details can cost an enormous amount of money to fix. However, catching them at the time of an inspection can alert the buyer if the property is a bad investment, or it can give them the power to negotiate with the seller for a lower price.
3. Lender or seller objections.
In some cases, anyone can do a home inspection, but the seller may not allow a non-certified person into their house. Certified inspectors usually have reference and criminal checks done before they are provided with their certification. This allows them access to the home without the realtor’s presence. In case a non-qualified person does an inspection, they could be blamed for any damage that is done to the house or if anything goes missing when they were inspecting the place. Also, if an alarm is set off and the police arrive, it may be hard to explain why they are in the house. In some instances, even a mortgage lender may object to providing funds unless a professional home inspector thoroughly inspects the property. This is done to assure the lender that no significant or urgent household expenses will show up, which may result in mortgage default.
4. Do things right the first time by hiring a true professional.
As an experienced home inspection company, we strongly recommend that you do not inspect a house yourself. We have received many hours of training and over a hundred certificates for various individual inspections. Plus, we have worked in the trade for over thirty years and know which problems are urgent and which ones are cosmetic. If we come across an aspect of a house that we have not encountered in a while, we review the professional course to refresh our memory, that way, you can be assured of 100% quality.
If you’re looking for a home inspection in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, reach out to Lizotte Inspection Services. We are certified in numerous areas of home inspections to ensure that your house is being inspected in all aspects. Our services include appliance recall checks, home inspection, mold inspection, moisture testing, thermal imaging, and ozonation.
Our fees vary, depending on a few things like if a house is larger than a typical one, if it has a suite, if it is on an acreage, or if it is outside our travel range. Our base fee is $400, and we do not charge extra for appliance recall checks, thermal imaging, and moisture testing.
To learn all about our home inspection services, visit our website, or get in touch with us here.