INSPECTIONS: WHY DO AND BY WHO

Inspections: Why should they be done and who should do them?

For most homeowners, preventative maintenance isn’t on the radar. Who goes in the attic or under the house annually and looks around for issues? I’m in and out of the attic once in a while but not looking around the full area of the attic space.
Inspections should be done to determine current condition, to note issues that need to be addressed immediately, to find issues that should be on your radar, and items, if fixed now, could prevent costly repairs down the road.

Who should do the inspections?: Well, ask five Realtors and you’ll probably get 6 answers. The answer also varies per region. Southern California and the Foothills tend to let the buyers do the inspections. For Southern California they tend not to have the termite issues that we do the Bay Area, and less rain means less water damage issues. In the Foothills I believe it’s still the way it was in the past; Buyer Beware. There was no professional inspection company involved in the process in the past.

In the past, you found the home you liked and then had your “contractor friend” or may have just been a friend, an Uncle Charlie, dad, or whoever was doing that for the buyer. So, they would give it a once over, and then the buyer would negotiate or not and move forward with the purchase or walk away. In the fast-paced Bay Area we created a habit of doing inspections up front and having the Seller pay for those reports to share with a potential Buyer. The theory being that a Buyer can make an informed decision about the condition of the house prior to making an offer. This also provides the benefit of not having to renegotiate the sales price once the Buyer has done their own inspections because they were not done upfront.

The downside to this practice is that many buyers request the reports and disclosures prior to even going to look at the property. They may choose to not even look at the property based on the information in the disclosure package.  Sometimes buyers will pass up the ideal home because they chose not to go see it in person based on a report.

Inspections are not bulletproof. An inspector can only see what they can see; some areas are not accessible, framing under the siding can't been seen, wiring and plumbing in the walls can't be seen. So, take into consideration that what can be seen may be minimal to what cannot be seen. This is an area where cheaper is not better. You want to use someone with experience, and good communication skills to be able to explain the report that was written. These reports are written in a “CYA” format (Cover Your Assets). So what may sound worrisome may be irrelevant after it’s explained. What has been your experience in Buying or Selling in the past? And what is your preference?