In this fast-paced real estate market, many buyers are being pressured to purchase homes without completing a home inspection. This is a really bad idea that puts your investment and quite possibly your safety at risk, read on for more details.
Hidden dangers that home inspectors find
In most inspections we perform, there are a number of safety hazards we uncover. It is the rare house that was both built and updated perfectly to meet current safety standards. Some common issues we see are improper electrical wiring, improper venting of combustible materials, unapproved structural alterations, just to name a few. These are not issues that you, or even a seasoned real estate agent would be able to spot. Uncovering these defects, requires special training experience and tools (such as infrared cameras and radon detectors).
Don’t throw money out the window
Many homes are lacking in energy efficiency, which can cost homeowners a lot of money. If your home is not properly air sealed, insulated and using energy efficient appliances, you may be paying to heat or cool air that leaves your house. Effectively throwing away money. Our home inspectors will check the operation and efficiency of your appliances and look for energy waste. A detailed report will show where you can save money and what your return on investment will be.
Your home shouldn’t be a money pit
We’ve all heard the stories. Someone buys their dream house, only to find problem after problem, sinking into a “money pit”. Owning and maintaining a house does cost money, but with a home inspection you should have a good idea of what will need to be repaired, replaced, upgraded, or maintained. No surprises!
There’s a misconception that home inspections are all about finding major issues, like structural problems, or dangerous electrical wiring. We certainly do find those problems, but we do much more. All the parts of the home interact with each other in ways that can either be harmonious, or problematic. “Small” issues like improper sloping around the house, missing downspout extensions, missing flashing, etc. can all lead to bigger problems. Both the integrity of the home and the comfort of the occupants depend on all these systems being in harmony.
Get peace of mind
The best outcome of a home inspection is that we find nothing wrong. You can go through with the purchase of the home, knowing that you and your family can live there safely and comfortably. You’ll know what to expect and how to keep your house in top shape.
Why you should hire Tactical Inspections MI
At Tactical Inspections MI, we go above and beyond the Standards of Practice that most home inspectors use. We use advanced technologies, such as Infrared Cameras, on all inspections at no extra cost. Technologies like drones, cameras and robots enable us to inspect areas that other inspectors may skip. We’re not alarmists and we won’t scare you unnecessarily, we will clearly explain issues and what they mean to you. We provide thorough, detailed reports with high quality photos and videos that will clearly demonstrate any issues we find. We take great care to do a professional inspections, leaving the home exactly as we find it. Our reports are sent within 24 hours of the inspection, enabling you to make informed decisions without delay. You can see a few samples of problems we found below:
Thank you very much for this valuable detailed home inspection post. I think this thing is a must-have. Because an inspection is the only way to find out about the risks in a house. And if we see a shortcoming, we can fix it before it gets worse. Thank you very much for the pictures you posted. Keep posting like this.
Thanks for the comment, you’re 100% correct!
We have sold a couple of homes over the years. The buyers usually pay for the general inspection. I don’t know if its regulation or not, but we the seller covers the termite inspection and for an older home asbestos and lead paint. Your article is absolutely correct. A full home inspection is worth the money. It is also important to find a company who is reputable and knowledge able. Usually, the seller is not trying to pass off problems, but rather, might not be aware of them so a detailed inspection is important. It is important to note that this is different than an appraisal.
Termite and lead inspections vary by location. You are right on, many times the seller believes their home is in great condition, they’ve been living there happily for some time and they’re completely unaware of the dangers, or deterioration that’s occurring.
I’ve experienced this first-hand with one of my best friends when she was getting divorced and tried to purchase a new home. The house was beautiful on the outside and from the pictures you could tell that it was worth the prices that they were asking for. What they forgot to mention was that the house was part of an unsettled will that someone left to their kids so the house was owned by all of them, but one was trying to sell it behind everyone else’s back. The house has damages and there was a lot of misinformation. I’m glad my friend didn’t settle and that she found something that actually fit her.
Thanks for the comment! Hopefully the Title company would find an issue with that and/or the title insurance would protect her in that situation. Still scary!
Buying a home is a huge investment and ending up with a dud is not something most people can afford. Most people try to hide or cover up faults when selling, so before purchasing, for peace of mind, it is definitely worthwhile getting a home inspection. I would not buy a home without doing this no matter what it looks like.
The tricky thing is that in preparing a house for sale, cosmetic repairs can often cover up significant problems, even unintentionally!
Thank you for this post and the issues you raise are very important. You have shown the energy efficiency problem and how it can lead to the buyer sinking his money into a new house/home. Do you also find problems connected with the water supply system in some homes? If it was found that such a problem existed, how will serious will be its impact? Thank you once again.
Yes, we do find water supply issues, including improperly sized pipes, leaks and low water pressure. They’re usually not too difficult to fix, but require a professional plumber.
It’s so true that good, thorough home inspections are worth every penny! I think it’s great that you also use infrared cameras to detect issues that would not be visible to the naked eye, but could still cause problems down the road. Even if you aren’t able to get the owner to fix the problem in advance, it’s always good information to have to help to know what financial obligations may lie ahead!
For sure! I’ve walked away from a few potential home purchases ,myself in the past b/c of issues found during the inspection.
Thank you for such an insightful article. This right here is an absolute must have for your home. Making sure that your home is safe and that no damage will be caused by anything. And this will do just that. One’s safety is key and one should always take that in consideration.
Totally agree!
I agree 0. Having a home inspection is absolutely necessary before ever purchasing a home. I was in the process of buying my first home I got all excited. Just to find out from the inspection the entire house needed to be completely demolished, including all the plumbing, and rebuilt. The house was not fixable. If I would have bought that house without an inspection all these issues would have occurred, the house would not be able to be resold unless a house flipping company bought it, and we would have been trapped. Now mind you even with an inspection and a green light to go, house issues are still going to rise up no matter how good the house is. Houses fall apart eventually and need to be fixed. It’s the way life goes. An inspection may help prevent getting hit with a huge mess.
Wow, that’s a scary situation, glad you got the inspection!
Thank you for such a post on a less-talked topic. I totally agree with you, a home inspection is a must before buying a new home as well as you should also perform a home inspection in a couple of years so that you can find flaws like rotting wood, termites, etc. and treat them before it causes much damage to your property.
People are asking you to sell your home with more money and they even don’t need an inspection of old homes. The market is looking for houses more than what is available in the current inventories. Your blog came in at the right time. I like your technicalities for house inspection which can offer the critical information.
We built our house new, still don’t know much about the construction. We discover small things here and there.
It is very important to know where one of your biggest expenses is going and how safe you are going to be in your living.
Termite, carbon monoxide, HVAC performance, your electrical and gas connection, heating performance, air conditions. Are all your rooms heating and cooling at the same pace? Will your basement going to flood?
Get some knowledgeable, licensed home inspectors to relieve stress and future surprises and avoid potential money loss.
Keep on showing more pics and yes I have bought a house before and it was a hot mess. It had all kinds of outdated stuff going on . Sometimes the seller knows about it and is just ready to get rid of the money pit. Others do not realize the damages because they maybe to old and not able to check things out but either way it needs to be done thank you for explaining things better. best of luck on your journey.