You’ve been looking and looking and looking for the perfect home to buy and you think you’ve found it.

It’s in the right location with all the amenities you desire.  It even has your favorite paint colors on the walls, with a kitchen that’s a dream.  What’s not to love about this house?  Time to call the seller, make an offer, and buy!

…Hold on there.  As most professionals in the real estate industry will tell you, making a purchasing decision based primarily on emotion is not a good idea.  That house may appear to be nothing short of your heart’s desire, but is it really?  And how can you know?

Buy a Home Inspection First

If you could spend $400-$800 to potentially save thousands of dollars, would you do it?  And if that $400-$800 also brought you some serious peace of mind, would you be glad you spent it?  A home is one of the largest purchases most people will make in their entire lives.  Spending a few hundred dollars on a good home inspection—one that helps you know if your thousands of dollars is buying the right house—is a smart idea.

“An inspection doesn’t mean you are buying a perfect home. It means you know what you are getting into.” [1]

What is a Home Inspection?

A home inspection is a “snapshot it time” that lets you know the current condition of the house you hope to call home.  An experienced and qualified home inspector will examine the exterior, interior, crawlspace, basement and attic of a home looking for any deficiencies in its “physical structure and systems.”[2]  The basic home inspection report should cover what the inspector is able to observe on the day of the inspection about the cooling and heating systems, plumbing and electrical systems, structural components, basement and foundation, roof and attic, windows and doors, ceilings and floors, and visible insulation.  It is his or her job is to give you an objective, non-emotional glimpse of the house you want to buy.  As one author observed:

“Professional Home inspectors will tell you more about your home than you ever knew…The report will describe your home  in all its technical aspects, tell you what items require immediate repair, and what will  require attention over a longer period of time.  The report helps you figure out what to do next.”[3]

Good Information Leads to Good Decisions

A good home inspection provides the information you need to be sure:

•  There are no health or safety concerns for you and your family
• There are no major deficiencies in the home that could be costly to repair
•  That you have some ideas of what to do to maintain or improve the home’s value

If you’re going to buy a home, then you want to purchase the best home you can afford—one that is structurally sound, healthy and safe.  Getting an in-depth home inspection from a qualified home inspector is money well spent.

“Only you can make the decision of what home is right for you. Let us be the home inspection professionals who can give you an objective insight into the structure you hope to call home.”

 –Michael Wicklund, The Sterling Inspection Group, Inc.

by Beverly Pogue

[1]https://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/why_should_you_have_your_home_inspected

[2]https://www.mass.gov/ocabr/licensee/dpl-boards/hi/home-inspectors-facts-for-consumers-sheet.html

[3] Effros, Bill. How to Sell Your Home in 5 Days. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Workman, 2007.