The Importance of Home Inspection Services
One of the most important, in fact, the most important and quite likely the largest purchase that you will make in your lifetime will quite likely be your home. Whether you are considering Santa Monica real estate or real estate in some other part of the country, the purchase is not a small one.
An important part of the Santa Monica real estate purchase system that many home owners forgo and should not. The importance of home inspection simply can not be overstated whether you are buying a house, or you are offering one for sale to a buyer, a home inspection is a solid idea and a good part of a sale. The buyer and seller will both benefit from the home inspection.
When you are hiring a home inspector, there are some specific questions that you should be prepared to ask them in order to ensure that you get a quality home inspection.
First, you will want to know how much the home inspection will cost. The answer to that will be, dependent upon where you live, a home inspection may cost as low as $200, though depending on how large your property is and the type of home and/or condo/townhome it can increase in price and typically ranges between $275 – $600 in LA.
The job of the home inspector is to assess every aspect of the house to look for any problems that may exist in it. Question them about the things they will look at when they do the home inspection and make it a point to ask questions about the heating and air conditioning, as well as the electrical system of the house you are considering.
The home inspector should… when doing a thorough examination… review the piping and plumbing, he or she will look into the home ventilation system, as well as the furnace and air conditioning. This further defines the importance of home inspection. These are costly components of the house. Further, the home inspection will assess the electrical system of the house to ensure that there are no problems with the home wiring system. You need to remind yourself that in most cases a general inspector is not a roofer or plumber, so further investigation may be needed.
Your home inspector will evaluate everything from the moisture of the house down to the garbage disposal and nearly everything in between, so that there are no secrets or surprises for either the home seller or the home buyer. Moreover, your home inspection will be able to estimate for you approximately how long your house will be able to stand up without any major outlay on your part.
Dave Ockun, REALTOR® with Keller Williams Westside suggests to Buyers to have their Real Estate Agent provide CAR form BIE, which is for Buyer Inspection Elections. On this form, buyers will find a checklist with many potential inspection types. It’s not a bad idea for a buyer to ask their General Inspector if they have any recommendations of additional inspectors. Talk it over with them, and use this checklist to let your agent know what other inspections you may want to have on the property. And one important rule of thumb… If you are feeling an inspection is important, don’t wait until after you purchase a property! Do it before contingencies are removed. Also, don’t hesitate to ask questions and have your agent ask questions on your behalf.
A home inspection service can offer you a reprieve by helping you to see all of the physical faults of the house that you are considering for purchase. You will receive a full written report from the home inspector which you may then share with your Santa Monica real estate agent. Based on the findings you may then decide whether or not to submit a request for repairs to the house, a credit on the repairs, or to simply bear the cost of the repairs yourself.
This is a big purchase! It is something you will quite likely live with–an in–for years to come. Ensuring that you get what you are paying for is an important part of the process. Your home inspection can help you to accomplish that.
Good Luck!
