Home Inspections….Exposed!

Prevailing wisdom for homebuyers includes the hiring of a professional home inspector to evaluate the condition of your intended purchase.

While you aren’t legally required to perform a home inspection, Oregon’s real estate contracts have a nearly a full page of 6-point type devoted to contingencies for a professional home inspection, and also provides language to conduct additional inspections for such issues as lead-based paint, septic systems and wells (where applicable). Many homebuyers will opt for tests on things such as sewer lines, heating and cooling systems, roofing and siding materials, and more.

In other words, it’s an important piece of due diligence for the homebuyer (yes, even for new construction).

First-time homebuyers might be unfamiliar with what the professional inspection looks for (and sometimes more importantly, what they don’t look for). The American Society of Home Inspectors has put together a narrated, virtual tour of the standard practices for home inspections. The narrative is a little stilted and repetitive, but the multimedia presentation helps explain the inspector’s process and the common defects they might reveal.

ASHI’s visual tour inspection highlights home features such as the structure, exteriors, roofing, plumbing, electrical, heating, air conditioning, interiors, ventilation and fireplaces. It’s an interactive presentation, allowing you to click on various components of the home and highlighting some of the most common issues that arise.

If you’re curious what security your $300+ home inspection fee actually provides, visit the virtual home inspection tour at the American Society of Home Inspectors. Their FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section is good, too.

Technorati Tags: home inspection, ASHI, home buyer, real estate, virtual tour

Photo by feralboy . Used under Creative Commons license.

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1 comment November 2nd, 2006