According to the president and CEO of HouseMaster, almost every used house requires some improvement or repair. But with increasing prices these days, it is very important to make sure whether you know about any serious problems in a home which you are going to purchase, and how you will be able to get rid of those problems.
HouseMaster inspected more than a million homes and found some of the major defects in houses such as:
- Failure of the air-conditioning compressor
- Cracked heater exchange
- Environmental hazards counting radon, lead paint, asbestos, water contamination, and underground storage tanks
- Moisture in the basement
- Insect infestation — carpenter ants or termites
- Major home settlement
- Defective flashing and/or roofing
- Mixed plumbing
- Horizontal foundation cracks
- 10. Aluminum wiring
- 11. Settling/separation of the chimney
- 12. Undersized electrical system
A majority of these problems can be fixed. However, it may involve a substantial amount of money depending upon the particular problem, mostly if a major system of the house is defected. Thus, cost can be one of the factors in determining whether you will purchase a house or not.
Defective roofing, for instance, can cost you a huge amount of money. If there is a failing air conditioning compressor, then you will be required to buy a new one that could cost you about $1,200.
When you enter into negotiations for purchasing a specific home, and the house inspector discovers serious problems in the house, you should provide a provision to negotiate or back out from the contract. If repairs are required, a number of ways are available to go on, in case you still wish for buying the house, according to the Dummies book.
- The lender is able to withhold part of the loan’s full amount in a passbook savings account till the completion of the work.
- In order to cover the repair costs, the sellers are capable of leaving sufficient amount of cash in escrow, with the instructions for escrow officer for paying the contractors on the completion of the work.
- The sellers can provide a credit for work. As there are no assurances that repairs would be made, lenders may not agree with this last option.
Usually, a home inspection cost ranges from $250 to $400. Hiring a competent inspector would be wise. You can search for links with organizations such as the American Association of Home Inspectors or the American Society of Home Inspectors.
