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What's Your Credit
Score? Find Out Here
 After
you have found a property that meets your budget and needs, the next step is to determine whether the physical
condition of the property will be acceptable. All Real Estate is definitely not created equal--there is a great
variance in the way individual homeowners maintain their properties. In addition, you need to be aware of any hidden
defects that could substantially affect the value of the home. The only way to safely determine the condition of
a property is to take advantage of every opportunity you have to inspect it.
Depending on the type of financing you choose, there should be either 2 or 3 separate inspections on the home you
want to purchase. The first should be your own basic inspection (see the link at the bottom of this page for what
to look for), the second should be a professional whole-house inspection by a reputable person. Should you select
a government loan (FHA or VA), the third inspection should come at the time of the appraisal, which to some degree
amounts to a "mini-inspection." You should not, however, depend on the appraisal to disclose potential
defects in the property.
We cannot emphasize enough the value and necessity of an extensive
home inspection. Many home purchasers, either in the desire to
save the $200 to $500 that a good inspection costs, or due to simple ignorance, have spent enormous sums of money
repairing items that any good home inspector would have pointed out. Any offer to purchase you make should be contingent
upon (subject to) a whole house inspection with a satisfactory report. Do not let anyone--not the Agent, not your family or friends, and especially not the seller--dissuade
you from having the property thoroughly inspected! Not only will you sleep much sounder after you have moved into
the house, a professional inspection can give you an escape hatch from a contract on a defective house. If the
contract is written contingent on an acceptable inspection, any defects in the home must be either repaired or
monetarily compensated for. If you are not satisfied, you have the option to cancel the contract.
Probably a good plan of action when you have found a home that you would like to buy is to schedule an additional
viewing with the specific purpose of doing a personal
inspection. If it is obvious that there are defects in the
house that you either do not wish to deal with, or cannot afford to deal with, it is a good idea to renew your
search for a home. If the house passes your personal inspection, then you can move to the offer and negotiation
stage, and finally to a professional inspection.
 Don't wait until you
have placed an offer on a house before you begin the search for a home inspector. There will be a time limit in
the contract designating when the inspection must be completed (typically between 7 and 14 days). If you start
trying to find an inspector at that point, and cannot find an acceptable one to schedule the inspection in that
time frame, you will only have two choices: go with an inspector that is not your first choice, or run the risk
of running past the deadline for the inspection. Neither is an acceptable alternative!
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