Home Inspection
How much is a home inspection? Where do you get one from?
Checking for a friend just to make sure all is safe. Thank you. Not for buying or selling just to get everything checked out before winter so there are no issues.
Gregory
Stymie What would potentially be “unsafe”?
General home inspectors don’t / can’t make definitive determinations on foundations, roof integrity/life remaining, hidden electrical issues (they won’t take the panel off any breaker boxes), etc. They will tell you to call in specific experts for those issues. They will check that the drains work, outlets are functional and/or GFCI protected, visual observations for some bug problems, if the windows open/close easily, drainage problems (if they see a puddle), bathroom venting, loose railings, etc.
I guess they can be useful when you are buying a house and EVERYTHING is new to you, so extra sets of eyes are good. But for a house you already own and may have specific concerns, if there’s a crack in the slab call a foundation guy. If the roof looks ragged call a roofing company. If you see sparks, call an electrician.
But to answer your question, they are very easy to find. Google “home inspector” and your town or county name and you’ll probably get dozens of results. Been about 5 years since I bought my house and I paid $275.
Mark Mc. Sorry Mark.
You don’t open the panel, you’re fired.
Load up your ladder and bye bye.
“You don’t open the panel, you’re fired.”
Open the outer door to look at the breakers, sure.
Take off the panel to see the wiring (where actual problems may lurk) - not likely…
You’d probably have to pay an electrician more just to do that than the entire general home inspection costs. Now if you find an inspector who is ALSO a licensed electrician you might get lucky.
During long days (summer), home inspectors try to schedule 3 inspections a day.
Short days ( late fall to early spring) they try to squeeze in two.
Travel time consumes part of the day.
Not enough time to do a full electrical.
If they find any hints of problems, they point them out and state that “ a licensed electrician should be contacted for further investigation”.
Same with structural issues.
Every home inspector I’ve hired has been on the roof and has opened the electric panel. Maybe I got lucky? I thought that was standard. IMO if I hired one today I would ask that they have a thermal camera as well.
Forgot to add price. I think I paid $250 many years ago. If you have a septic then expect to hire someone who just does that.
My personal opinion is home inspectors are pretty useless if you have a basic grasp of what a house entails.
Yes- there are details in individual areas that professionals in those fields can notice and point out to you- but that isn't what home inspectors are about.
They tend to give a very basic overview to people that don't have a clue.
Call up an actual person that works in each area- and they will find things the inspectors don't catch- don't talk about- or 'don't do'.
Josh Doing what Josh suggests is ideal, but good luck trying to coordinate all those various inspections with specialized professionals without ticking off your realtor or the seller.
Probably couldn't have done that a year ago (sellers would just move on to another offer)...maybe now you have half a chance since the market has cooled off some.
Route 46 “Doing what Josh suggests is ideal, but good luck trying to coordinate all those various inspections with specialized professionals without ticking off your realtor or the seller.”
I had no problem having a separate general home inspection, septic inspection, pest inspection, and chimney inspection when I bought my house. They all occurred on different dates.
I forget the exact specifics but the inspections usually occur after the offer/contract has been accepted (assuming, like any good contract should, the buyers are permitted time to perform inspections). As a buyer I wouldn’t pay for ANY inspection without a signed contract in place already.
If the sellers pull out just because they get ticked off they can be sued for breach of contract. They can pull out if an agreement cannot be reached due to any problems/repair considerations the buyer requests as a result of the inspections.
Mark, I get what you're saying...but the realities are what they are. Not sure how crazy things are now, but a few months ago, enough buyers (not all) were waiving inspections altogether. This allowed sellers to pick those bids, unfortunately leaving out people that wanted to do their own due diligence.
I also want to ensure home for elderly- not buying not selling and have no desire to have lots of people in- need fireplace checked- oil gas electric furnace hot water heater - plumbing . Just trying to be proactive as I am not now in the area …Gregory makes sense to me - who to call?
I bought a home recently and it was the second inspection the first purchase fell through. I used a very good company,I but I paid 750.00. That included the inspection, Radon Testing and the Wood Destroying Insect report. Yes the inspector opened the panel and then went further to be sure everything was wired to code. Thats a must. I also had a level 2 chimney inspection and the drone used was a newer state of the art thermography so I was able to get a rough indication "unoffically" of what type of shape the roof was in as well as the chimney. I also did have to hire a separate septic inspector which is a
must.
The main purpose when buying is to negotiate with the seller the issues that are found by the inspectors. It isnt uncommon to get a credit upwards of 5k or have them make documented repairs on the home interior and in the case of septic make repairs upwards of another 5k. You cannot get credit for a failed septic as a buyer. Sellers and realtors know the drill so I wouldnt be afraid about putting anyone out. Septic, Radon, Chimney are all very expensive remediation.
JG You may be interested in a energy assessment which will look at Insulation/Airsealing, mechanicals/HVAC, Health and Safety concerns...all of which seem to be among your concerns to prepare for Winter. They include Thermal imaging, Blower door test, check for gas leaks, HVAC assessment, etc
Only cost 99$ for an audit.
Jesse Ron DeMott - Better Home Inspections - Hopatcong - 973 770 1213 - Price as of two years ago $525 . Includes termite and radon inspection. Septics not included. Ron has done 4 home inspections for me in the past 8 years. Very thorough and - you accompany him during the inspections and he explains everythng as you go along. You will get a very detailed report within a few days. Might seem a little bit pricy but for me it was worth it - he goes into good detail.
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