Consumer Home Inspection
Take a look for yourself
It is always recommended to get a home inspection by a licensed home inspector after you have your contract accepted by the seller, but it is also good for the consumer to have an idea of the basic condition of the home before they make an offer. Many items in need of repair are obvious if you know what to look for and some of the most important facts you may ever know about the property or neighborhood can be found out by talking with the neighbors. Neighbors are a great resource because they can usually tell you things that you will not find on the seller’s disclosure. The seller’s disclosure may say that the home has never flooded, which is true, but the neighbor may inform you that the street has been flooding since the new neighborhood was built down the street. Neighbors are a great resource for insight in to schools, crime, bad neighbors or on the other hand tell you how much they like living in the area and encourage you to go through with the purchase. If you purchase a foreclosure, the lender is not required by law to give you a seller’s disclosure, so you may not know that a house flooded or burned 10 years ago because it is not disclosed and this is why having a friendly discussion with your potentially new neighbors is a good idea.
Here are some simple things you can do as you walk a house to determine the condition for yourself.
- Turn on all lights, appliances, garage door openers and ac units and look for anything unusual.
- Turn on all water faucets, showers, flush commodes and make sure everything drains quickly.
- Open and close all doors and windows to determine if there may be some foundation issues.
- Look in the attic to visualize heater and see if roof deck is plywood or over old wood shingles.
- Look at all sheetrock for cracks or previous signs of water or water stains.
- Look at kitchen and bath cabinets to determine if they are wood or particle board.
- Inspect the service drop coming to the power panel to see if it is too low.
- Inspect the power panel to see if breakers are missing. Do not remove safety cover.
- Inspect the exterior brick for cracks that may point to foundation issues.
- Inspect foundation for at least 3 inches showing above dirt. Look for termite tunnels on slab.
- Look at roof for missing shingles, missing flashing or sagging.
- Ask neighbors about city water and sewer, since some areas are on well or septic.
- Use common sense. If something looks wrong, it probably needs repair.
- Go to www.tsarp.org to determine if you are in the flood plain