Self-Guided Home Inspections Serve Home Sellers, Real Estate Professionals, and Real Estate Investors
By knowing what home inspectors are looking for in advance, a homeowner can eliminate many potential problems before a professional home inspection, real estate agents can help prioritize items that will affect the sale, and investors will know what to look for when conducting a home inspection. market research.
For the Owner:
A self-guided home inspection provides a step-by-step process that will help the owner/seller pocket more cash at closing of escrow. By knowing what home inspectors look for in advance, a homeowner can eliminate many potential problems before a professional home inspection.
Eliminating out-of-escrow issues allows the homeowner to leverage time and control expenses to their advantage. Having time to gather competitive bids from people qualified for repairs, using free services often available from local agencies, doing the repairs themselves, and having time to shop for the best price on materials are all ways a self-guided home inspection can generate more profit when the property sells.
For real estate professionals:
When a client is willing to properly prepare their home prior to a formal inspection, the real estate agent gains a more complete picture of the property’s condition and therefore more effectively advises the seller before and during the listing. and the sale. The real estate agent can also help prioritize the repair items that will most affect the sale of the property. The non-technical information that the owner collects by conducting a self-guided inspection helps the real estate agent create a more proactive seller.
For the Real Estate Investor:
Investors/buyers of real estate are taught that profit is made on the purchase and realized on the sale. In addition to the property’s location and features, having a more specific way of viewing a property before making an offer, buying a foreclosure, or bidding at an auction can have a significant impact on the decision to buy or pass.
Investors/buyers who learn to look at a building from the perspective of a professional home inspector can effectively recognize a building’s true condition. Ultimately, this means more cost control, leading to more profit when the property is sold or reducing complaints while living there.
VERY IMPORTANT POINTS ABOUT HOME INSPECTORS
There are a few points to keep in mind regarding reports from professional home inspectors. The information contained in a report could have a direct impact on the sale and sale price of the property.
HOUSING INSPECTORS ARE NOT BUILDING INSPECTORS
Home inspectors are not required to be licensed in many states and may not have hands-on construction experience. The report is a visual inspection by a generalist who does not represent themselves as a licensed contractor.
Home inspectors make mistakes just like anyone else and all parties are free to get a second opinion.
A HOME INSPECTION IS NOT A CODE INSPECTION
Home inspectors need a basis for the report’s findings. One of the many sources is the uniform building codes. Home inspectors use other sources of information, including local building codes and ordinances, manufacturer’s installation instructions, and the Business and Professions code.
When the home inspector asks for information about the year of construction or when additions or remodels are made, they do so because the construction only has to comply with the building codes in effect at the time the building permits were obtained.
A HOME INSPECTION IS FOR A SPECIFIC LOCATION AT A SPECIFIC TIME
After the inspector has left the site, if a window breaks, the furnace stops working, or a toilet overflows causing damage, they obviously cannot report these situations.
THE HOME INSPECTOR IS A GUEST IN THE HOUSE
Inspectors are guests in the home and as such are not authorized to disassemble any fixtures or appliances or remove personal items, furniture, rugs or rugs. However, they must be authorized to operate all regular components of the home, including lights and switches, stoves, ovens, dishwashers, compactors, garbage disposals, hot tubs, generators, fans, garage doors, ovens, etc.
WHAT AUTHORITY HAS A HOME INSPECTION REPORT?
The homeowner does not have to repair any items simply because they were included in the report, unless such repairs are required by law or regulation elsewhere. Common sense would dictate that dangerous conditions be addressed immediately, but a home inspection report carries no authority that requires any person to take any specific action. However, the information collected during a home inspection could be used by the buyer to ask the seller to lower the asking price or to repair or replace certain items.
Repairs or replacements that are completed prior to any inspection will almost always be less expensive than those requested by the prospective buyer.
APPROVE OR SUSPEND?
The home inspection is a visual inspection of the condition of the property at the time of the inspection. A pass or fail concept is purely subjective and not an aspect of the process.
VERY IMPORTANT. IF THE INSPECTOR DOES NOT SEE OR FIND IT, IT WILL NOT BE IN THE REPORT
HOWEVER, this does not relieve the seller of the legal responsibility to disclose everything they know about the property. The seller should not try to hide anything he finds in his own investigation. That’s not only wrong, it’s against the law.
In the disclosure process, the term “material facts” means anything about the property that could affect the buyer’s buying decision. These facts must be disclosed by the owner, including any problems that have been repaired. There may not be anything obvious to anyone looking at the property, but a neighbor could reveal the above problem to you and that could lead to a lawsuit.
FINALLY
In inspectors’ reports, the terms “Notes,” “Problems,” and “Findings” each refer to the same thing. Aspects of the property that are potential hazards, blemishes, defects, or any condition that significantly affects the value, attractiveness, habitability, or safety of the home. A responsible home inspector will look for and report these items.