Home Inspections

Home inspections are an important part of the home buying process. A home inspection is a thorough review of the home’s most important components, such as its structure, roof, air conditioning/furnace, and electrical system, before you purchase the property. The inspection usually takes at least a couple of hours and takes place after a seller accepts your offer to buy a house and before closing.

The purpose of a home inspection is to identify any issues with the property that could affect its value or safety. If the inspector finds relatively minor issues with the home, it’s likely you can negotiate with the seller to fix them, or the seller can pay you to fix them when you move in (if they are minor, of course). However, an inspector also could find enough major problems that you decide to withdraw your offer.

While some issues my seem minor in the grand scheme of things, there’s typically a reason an inspector will call them out. Here in the Pacific Northwest gutters and downspouts are a common item that buyers, sellers and real estate agents will rool their eyes at or gloss over. The reality is this is a fairly cheap fix that will help prevent thousands of dollars in foundation, basement and crawl space issues.

It’s important to note that a home inspection is different from an appraisal. While you hire a home inspector to do a thorough review of the condition of your possible future home, your lender hires an appraiser to estimate the value of the home. The appraiser conducts a review of the property as well as comparative properties and sale prices for those house.

If you’re interested in learning more about home inspections, here are some articles that might be helpful: