The Ultimate Guide To Home Inspections
Buying a house is a big decision as it requires thousands of dollars of your hard-earned money to gain ownership of a property. As a result, when you choose a residence to call your home, you want to make sure that it meets your needs and isn't a money pit. To ensure that you're choosing a suitable house devoid of significant issues, hiring a home inspector is crucial.
Home inspectors are trained to evaluate the condition of a property, its systems, and appliances for you. That way, you are aware of the state of a house before you invest in it. There are several other advantages to home inspections like leverage for negotiations, better chances of obtaining a mortgage, and property maintenance details. However, to really enjoy these benefits, you need to know how to draw them out during an inspection. Moreover, you need to know how to choose a professional home inspector.
To help you with this, Lizotte Inspection Services has put together an Ultimate Guide to home inspections. In this guide, we've covered how we conduct assessments, how you can boost the benefits of our services, and so much more!
How to maximize the benefits of inspection services?
Get an inspection done before making a purchase: Be sure to add a condition on your offer for a home inspection. This will allow you to have us come into the house and give it a thorough inspection before the deal closes.
Ask questions about the inspection: For a thorough understanding of the residence you are purchasing, make sure you ask us as many questions as possible. You can ask us about thermal imaging, moisture testing, appliances, and these items are included in the price. Ask us if we look in the attic, go on the roof, check every window and door. Then ask other inspectors before calling us back to book our services.
Have the required details ready: When you book a home inspection, you must have all the documentation necessary and details prepared to proceed with the inspection. The listing number for the home you want to be inspected (will be a six-digit number with SK in front of it), your realtor's name and number, your full name, contact number, and email address are all vital details to have when requesting a home inspection as a buyer.
Avoid these mistakes at all costs!
Handling a home inspection yourself: People often feel as though they can do their own inspection or get their uncle who knows a little about many household aspects to do an inspection for them. But this, unfortunately, isn't sufficient. You need to have a certified home inspector to get the job done right. These professionals are trained to identify issues and potential problems with foundations, household setup, and systems too.
Not inspecting a new house: Some people feel they don't need an inspection for a condominium or a brand new house. Although a new house may be sturdier than an older one, it is still vital to have flaws pointed out so they can be fixed before you move in. Even new houses can have things that are not right, and that's why an inspection is crucial.
For example, we inspected a brand new house one day that had no insulation in the attic. It turned out to be an honest mistake that the installers fell behind schedule and planned to come back later to do it but then forgot. Building inspectors do not typically go in the attic after a house is done, so it would not get discovered at that stage. On the other hand, we look in every attic that we can physically get to and measure the amount of insulation there and take pictures of other things up there as well.
In another instance, when we were inspecting a brand new house, we noticed that the tub leaked from the overflow in the upstairs bathroom. We filled the tub to the overflow, and a little while later, we could see the leak with a thermal imager. Fortunately, the builder was on site at the time and repaired the issue while we were still there.
Our professional advice
See if the house is worth the price: Unfortunately, we can not tell you this. While we do inspections in many Saskatchewan areas, we do not follow the market in all these areas. Also, if a house needs work, we don't know your abilities or your contacts. The best person to talk to about the worth of a property is your realtor.
Check the cost to fix up the place: This is another aspect that we can not guide you with as we don't know your knowledge or abilities in various areas. You may be a handy person or have no skills in household repairs and maintenance, but have many contacts to help you with this. If you'd like to know the cost of fixing up a property for sale, we recommend that you talk to more than one contractor and check references for price points on repairs.
Clear your doubts: Buying a house is one of the most significant purchases you will make in your life, so ask questions. Ask your realtor, mortgage broker, lawyer, and even ask us questions about the aspects that make you curious or nervous when buying a house. As we all work for you during the purchase process, we are here to help you in any way possible.
For more details on our home inspections in the Saskatoon area, Saskatchewan, reach out to us at Lizotte Inspection Services. Our professional home inspections ensure that every inch of the home in which you currently live or the house you intend to purchase is thoroughly assessed. We detect defects lurking in nooks and crannies of a house and create assessment reports that will help you make educated decisions that are in your best interests. We specialize in several areas of home inspections and are happy to assist you with your home sale or purchase. Please click here to learn more about our services, or click here to get in touch with us!