Home Inspection 101
If you’re buying or selling a home here in Southern California, it’s important to understand what a home inspection entails and how it affects your sale or your purchase moving forward.
Let's start with... What Is a Home Inspection?
A home inspection is an objective, diligent, visual examination of the interior, exterior and systems of a home by a neutral third party during a specific window in time.
The goal of any inspection should be to show you what’s right, and what's wrong with the property. In addition to identifying these items, a good inspector will let you know if these items are normal everyday items, or if they are serious and warrant further evaluation or even additional inspections. More on that to follow... (Note: An inspection does not address permits, code violations or building standards). If a buyer has a concern with these items, it is their responsibility to either go to the appropriate municipalities or hire someone to do this research for them.
The three main points of the inspection are:
- To evaluate the physical condition of the home.
- To identify items in need of repair or replacement, and...
- Estimate the remaining useful life of the major systems, equipment, structure and finishes.
An inspector cannot report on defects that are not visible, such as defects hidden behind finished walls or beneath carpeting, and inaccessible areas.
Hiring an Inspector
The most common practice when looking to hire an inspector is to get recommendations from your Realtor, or from friends and family. You can also gather valuable information on different websites like google, linkedin, or even Yelp. In the state of California, there is no requirements to become a home inspector... At the same time, when interviewing inspectors, find comfort asking for references and memberships in professional associations. Find out about the inspector’s professional training and experience.
It’s always a good idea to be present during the inspection for a few reasons:
- You can ask the inspector questions during the inspection.
- The inspector will have the opportunity to point out areas of potential trouble, and...
- Many inspectors also will offer maintenance tips as the inspection progresses.
Making Suggested Repairs
Please keep in mind that in the state of California, the seller is not required to make ANY repairs or improvements with the exceptions of what is written into your California Residential Purchase Agreement. (The main 3 items a buyer and seller can not waive, are smoke detector installation, Co2 Detectors, and the Water Heater has to be Strapped/Anchored/Braced to resist falling in the event or an earthquake). Now know this... A good agent will coach their buyer on what is reasonable to ask for in the market of the moment. Always rely on their expertise to guide you and counsel you in these situations.
Costs and Time Involved
The inspector’s most important priority is knowledge, and accuracy, and it takes time to do a good job.... Don't rush them. The chances of mistakes are more likely if the inspector is being rushed, interrupted, or even challenged by the parties present at the inspection. Your general inspection will typically take about 2 hours, with the understanding that larger homes, and older homes will extend that time. If your inspector finds additional items that warrant additional inspection as we noted briefly above, know that these additional inspections come at an additional expense, and they will add time to your inspection window. The perfect example that we see of this in our Southern California market is Sewer Line Inspections. If you are buying/selling a home that is anywhere from 50-70 years old it would make sense to spend the money and run a camera down the sewer line to get an understanding of that overall condition of that system. Another example we are starting to see more an more are roof inspections. Many concrete tile roofs in our newer communities are starting to get upwards of 20-30 years old. While the integrity of the roof may look great, and the materials are still holding up well... The underlayment of the roof itself may be at the end of it's life. These items deserve your additional time and money as they can cost you tens of thousands of dollars after the close of escrow. Expect your general inspection to cost from $500 - $700 depending on just the size of the home, and whether or not the home has a crawl space, a pool or spa, etc...
Never underestimate the value of a home inspection as It may be one of the most important investments you make when buying a home.