Why You Should Get A Home Inspection – Butler County Ohio Realtor Marti McClure-Gibbins

Why A Buyer Should Get A Whole House Inspection - Tips From Your Butler County Ohio Realtor®

When you are buying a home, you should have a professional home inspection performed by a licensed and experienced home inspector.

A home inspection will look at the systems that make up the building such as:

Structural elements, foundation, framing etc
Plumbing systems
Roofing
Electrical systems
Cosmetic condition, paint, siding etc

What Really Matters

Buying a home? The process can be stressful. A home inspection is supposed to give you peace of mind, but often has the opposite effect. You will be asked to absorb a lot of information in a short time. This often includes a written report, checklist, photographs, environmental reports and what the inspector himself says during the inspection. All this combined with the seller's disclosure and what you notice yourself makes the experience even more overwhelming. What should you do?

Relax. Most of your inspection will be maintenance recommendations, life expectancies and minor imperfections. These are nice to know about. However, the issues that really matter will fall into four categories:

Major defects. An example of this would be a structural failure.
Things that lead to major defects. A small roof-flashing leak, for example.
Things that may hinder your ability to finance, legally occupy or insure the home.
Safety hazards, such as an exposed, live buss bar at the electric panel.

Anything in these categories should be addressed. Often a serious problem can be corrected inexpensively to protect both life and property (especially in categories 2 and 4).

Most sellers are honest and are often surprised to learn of defects uncovered during an inspection. Realize that sellers are under no obligation to repair everything mentioned in the report. No home is perfect. Keep things in perspective. Do not kill your deal over things that do not matter. It is inappropriate to demand that a seller address deferred maintenance, conditions already listed on the seller's disclosure or nit-picky items.

The above is an excerpt from Sell Your Home For More by Nick Gromicko.

If you are buying a home, you need to know exactly what you are getting. A home inspection, performed by a professional home inspector, will reveal any hidden problems with the home so that they may be addressed BEFORE the deal is closed. You should require an inspection at the time you make a formal offer. Make sure the contract has an inspection contingency. Then, hire your own inspector and pay close attention to the inspection report. If you aren't comfortable with what he/she finds, you should kill the deal.

One of the easiest ways to locate a Professional Inspector who is a member of the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors is to use NACHI Inspector Locator Tool.

Should You Get A Home Inspection Before You Sell Your Home?

If you are selling a home, you may want to know about such potential hidden problems before your house goes on the market. Almost all contracts include the condition that the contract is contingent upon completion of a satisfactory inspection. And most buyer's are going to insist that the inspection be a whole house inspection performed by an inspector they hire. If the buyer's inspector finds a numerous problems, it can cause the buyer to get cold feet and the deal can sometimes fall through. Surprise problems uncovered by the buyer's inspector could cause delays in closing if you don't insist that the whole house inspection be completed as soon as possible. I usually recommend the buyer's inspection be completed within 7 business days to avoid any delays in closing.

I do not normally recommend that a seller have a whole house inspection performed prior to putting your home on the market. Some say that it's better to pay for your own inspection before putting your home on the market. This allows you to find out about any hidden problems and correct them in advance. Otherwise, you can count on the buyer's inspector finding them. But Remember, it is very important that you plan to correct any problems the whole house inspector finds and shows in his/her report. Once you become aware of a defect, you must disclose this on the Residential Property Disclosure, and provide all prospective buyers with a copy. If you wait for the buyer to perform their own inspection, you can usually negotiate what items you will repair or reduce the price of your home so the buyers can take on the repairs. In addition, the home buyer will most likely want a whole house inspection performed by an inspector they hire; don't get a whole house inspection for the sole reason of avoiding an buyer's home inspection.

Some very informative links below:

As always, please feel free to contact me at (513)238-8809 or email me at myrealtor@cinci.rr.com with any questions or comments. If you are considering buying or selling a home in Butler County, Ohio, I would be honored to be considered for the job!

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	Related Links
	NACHI Inspector Locator
	Larry Davidson Home Inspections
	National Property Inspections
	HomePro
	Inspection Plus
	Land America
	AAA
	The Home Inspection Company
	Home Inspections USA
	Quality Home Inspection
	W.M. Harrison Enterprise Inspection Svcs
	SureGuard Inspections
	New Beginnings Home Inspections

All Information Contained Within This Website Is Believed To Be Accurate But Is Not Guaranteed By Marti McClure-Gibbins or The Real Estate Professionals, LLC ®. External Links Are For Your Convenience Only And Are Not Necessarily A Recommendation or Reference. All Information Provided By The External Links Is Believed To Be Accurate But Is Not Guaranteed By Marti McClure-Gibbins or The Real Estate Professionals, LLC ®. As With Everything, Information Should Be Independently Verified.

It is illegal, pursuant to the Ohio Fair Housing Law, Division (H) of Section 4112.02 of the Revised Code and the Federal Fair Housing law, 42 U.S.C.A. 3601, to refuse to sell, transfer, assign, rent, lease, sublease or finance housing accommodations, refuse to negotiate for the sale or rental of housing accommodations, or otherwise deny or make unavailable housing accommodations because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status as defined in section 4112.01 of the Revised Code, ancestry, military status as defined in that section, disability as defined in that section, or national origin or to so discriminate in advertising the sale or rental of housing, in the financing of housing, or in the provision of real estate brokerage services.

It is also illegal, for profit, to induce or attempt to induce a person to sell or rent a dwelling by representations regarding the entry into the neighborhood of a person or persons belonging to one of the protected classes.