Home Inspection Tips for a Better Inspection Experience

A quality home inspection is a significant part of both Property Buyers and sellers transactions. The best home inspections go beyond inspecting the structure, systems, and components of your home by also providing the opportunity for you to learn more about your property and how to maintain your biggest investment. Here are our home inspection tips to help you get the most out of your inspection:

1. Choose the Right Inspector

Being a home inspector comes with a lot of responsibility. They have to stay current with laws, continue their education, know what to look for, and to be able to clearly communicate their findings to all sorts of people. You should do research into your home inspector before hiring him or her to perform your home inspection. Looking at previous customer reviews for the home inspectors you are considering is an important part of our home inspection tips.

Ask home inspectors about their inspection experience, about their training, and what jobs they performed before becoming a home inspector—it’s usually a good sign if they have a history in home renovations, building, or contracting. You’ll also want to choose a home inspector who you trust and who makes you feel comfortable. This person will need to be able to clearly convey important information to you.

2. Don’t Skip Your Home Inspection

You don’t have to attend your home inspection, but it’s highly recommended that you do so. You won’t need to be there for the entire process (in fact, that could slow the inspector down), but you should be present at the end so that your home inspector can explain things to you that you might not catch simply from reading your home inspection report.

Many home inspectors welcome questions, even after the report is in your hands and the inspection is over. While the inspection report should include plenty of photographs, some issues may be discovered that will be easier to explain and review in person.

3. Get New Construction Inspected

All too often, homebuyers make the mistake of assuming that just because a home is a new construction, it won’t have any defects. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Whether it be from faulty workmanship or simple human error, new construction can have problems, and it’s best to catch them as early as possible. Be sure to have a professional home inspector visit the site to provide an unbiased 3rd party point of view while inspecting your new home prior to your final walkthrough with the builder.

4. Take More Than a Glance at the Inspection Report

Whether you’ve attended the home inspection or not, you’re should read your inspection report thoroughly. The report should be easy to understand, contain recommendations for addressing any noted defects, and contain helpful pictures. If you have any questions whatsoever about your report, don’t hesitate to contact your home inspector so that he or she can offer an explanation. It’s crucial that you understand your home inspection report!

5. Prepare Your Home for the Inspection

The home inspector will need access to all areas of your house, including the basement and the attic, so make sure that it’s going to be easy for them to get in there. Another home inspection tip is to provide keys to any locked entryways so that the inspector isn’t locked out of an area to be inspected.

Take Your Home Inspector’s Recommendations Seriously

As a buyer, your agent will help when it comes to negotiating with the seller about how to deal with any defects discovered by your home inspector. Still, some issues just don’t get resolved. In those cases, it’s going to be up to you to make sure that they’re dealt with before you close on the home. You may need to turn to a specialized expert for advice regarding how to deal with certain issues, such as an electrician or a roofer. Ask for a free estimate—it couldn’t hurt.

6. Don’t Skip the Pre-Listing Inspection

Our home inspection tips aren’t just for buyers! Sellers can get pre-listing inspections prior to putting their homes on the market in order to uncover any defects or safety issues that would later be found by a buyer’s inspector. By having a pre-listing inspection, sellers have the chance to make repairs and to present a better product that is more likely to get its asking price and to stay on the market for a shorter period of time.

We hope you find our home inspection tips helpful for your next inspection. Walton Inspection Services provides home inspections to all of Horry and Georgetown counties in South Carolina. To schedule an inspection, contact us.