Just got the keys of your new home? It’s time for a house warming party! But wait, did you check if the home you are proudly calling yours is healthy and safe enough? Are the huge investment you made and the hefty EMI you will be paying from now on going to be really worthwhile? If you have too many “maybes” and “what ifs” in your mind- go get your home inspected professionally. A home inspection is like a comprehensive health checkup for a property which has the potential to reveal any existing or looming damp/seepage problem. It saves you time and money. However, there are home inspection myths that buyers of property tend to buy in easily. You must stop believing in those myths to make a wise buying decision. But before that, here is what home inspection is all about:
Home Inspection: An eye-opener
A home inspection is an elaborate but non-invasive assessment of the condition of a home. It is conducted by a team of qualified and licensed professionals. They inspect each and every area and component of the home using scanning devices built on advanced technologies like thermal imaging and produce reports showing images of the parts having problems. The inspection also reveals leakage in water pipeline and faults in the electrical wiring system of the building. In short, home inspection covers all the major aspects of a property’s health and gives its owners a real picture of the worthiness of their most important buy.
What do you gain as a property buyer from home inspection?
Home inspection spells all win and no loss for a buyer. Here are the major benefits of home inspection (www.macj-abuyerschoice.com/home-inspection-area/home-inspection-benefits):
- Provides an extra level of security and helps plan for the future.
- Gives peace of mind as you know that your biggest investment, that is, the place where you are living with your family is safe and hygienic.
- Provides an in-depth analysis highlighting current needed repairs as well as potential danger.
- Helps you plan your future expenses.
- Uncover safety issues.
- Reveals possible pest, termite, and insect problems.
- Provides a basis for price negotiation with the property seller.
- It is non-invasive and relatively less expensive
What if a home inspection reveals a problem?
You are saved from a hundred hassles! Your hard-earned money is saved! You get to know exactly which area of your home needs to be repaired at the earliest so that it does not become a permanent headache. The home inspection report indicates the problem area(s) with such precision that you can plan your repair job and budget wisely. Be it waterproofing of the roof (www.drfixit.co.in), damp-proofing of the walls, or fixing a plumbing or electrical problem, civil, doors & windows, the money spent on post home inspection repair becomes money well spent. Moreover, your home inspection service provider offers you guidance on how to resolve a problem. They give you valuable references who you can approach later for waterproofing and paint solutions, plumbing and electrical jobs, and interior designing and home makeover.
What if you do not opt for a home inspection?
Unaddressed damp and leakage/seepage problems and minor plumbing and electrical faults or other problems, if any, keep aggravating ultimately leading to major issues and accidents. You may start getting unpleasant surprises right from day one or face a major problem one fine morning. Problems may range from something as small and annoying as a recurring watery spot on the wall to a leaking roof requiring urgent waterproofing. Even issues like popping paint, musty smell in the room due to fungal infestation, bulging wall tiles, and occasional short circuits may continue to bother you from time to time making your stay unpleasant and full of hassles.
And did we talk about unplanned expenses and health issues which may arise due to these problems?
By not opting for a home inspection at the time of buying a property, you actually leave the door open for future expenses to escalate.
Not convinced yet? Let’s bust some of the widely believed home inspection myths for you:
Myth 1: Home inspection reveals everything wrong in the home and finds an expensive fix
Fact: Home inspection is a non-invasive process that includes scanning by a handheld device preceded by visual inspection. It typically lasts about 3 to 4 hours (3 BHK unit). It brings to light only those areas which are already damp affected or are likely to become damp due to structural defects in the building. It also reveals possible sources of damp, a hidden seepage/leakage in the water pipeline, a problem in the electrical wiring system, and/or moisture content of the home. It is unlikely that your home will have all the problems at the same time, especially if it is a newly built one. In most cases, home inspection reveals issues such as plumbing and electrical defects, clogged gutters, uncaulked bathtub joints, and localized damps. It also identifies all the potential water seepage / intrusion areas which can be repaired at minimal costs before the damage occurs.
However, if your home is found to have major structural issues you get the chance to rethink your buying decision and/or change further investment plans.
Myth 2: Home inspection reports can predict future problems
Fact: As Marvin Goldstein, President of the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) rightly says, “You pay good money for an inspection report but that doesn’t mean you don’t need to go along.” A home inspection report definitely gives excellent information and finds out problems in the whole building /apartment but a homeowner can get more out of an inspection done at a future date. So, this is completely a misconception that by doing a home inspection once you can prevent all the damages in your home; neither can it predict future problems.
Moreover, a prediction is subjective and does not take into account changes taking place in the future. A home inspection, on the other hand, is a scientific process. If done at regular intervals, it can somewhat forecast a problem based on past trends and periodic observations made in the property.
Myth 3: A home inspection and a home appraisal are the same
Fact: Home appraisal (www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/12/home-appraisals.asp) and home inspection are two different things. In the first case, an appraiser determines the value of the real estate property on behalf of a leading financial institution (read: loan disbursing authority) or the home owner / buyer. A home inspection, on the contrary, is concerned with“the health and safety of the home- not the value.” These impressions are mainly created by the real estate agents who want to save their money on two different assessments. So, even if they offer you a free home inspection, as an aware home buyer, you must insist on getting an independent assessment done to steer clear of any conflict of interest.
Myth 4: Buyer’s don’t belong at the home inspection
Fact: Whether the buyers know anything about home inspection, construction and maintenance or not they should always be present at the time of the inspection. The buyers, especially the first-timers, must ask inspectors relevant questions on issues and home maintenance. The home inspectors may not tell the buyers whether or not to buy the house but they can surely share important repairs & maintenance tips with them.
Myth 5: Brand new home doesn’t need any home inspection
Fact: A faulty construction can lead to every type of repair nightmares in the future. So, new houses should be checked even more carefully than the old ones as there would be no resident from before to report anydamage history. Moreover, in old properties, damages due to damp and leakage/ seepage or electrical defects are visible from outside. In a new building, everything looks perfect but there can be hidden problems, to know more about it go through link – www.macj-abuyerschoice.com/protect-your-home-from-masked-hazards. No one can have an iota of doubt about a problem unless he/ she starts living in it.
Myth 6: A renovated home doesn’t need to be inspected
Fact: If your home has been redone from top to bottom there is no point checking it all over again, right? The answer is a big NO. A renovated house also needs a home inspection to see if everything is in under control. Some vendors are more interested in money. They do not bother about quality. To make sure that your money has been spent well, get a home inspection done before as well as after a renovation job.
Myth 7: A ‘good’ house will pass the inspection
Fact: A home inspection report never indicates whether a property has passed or failed. What is acceptable to one buyer may seem incorrigible to another! The home inspectors just point out the problems that you must address to save your property from further damage in the long run. It has nothing to do with how good or how bad a particular property is.
Myth 8: The seller must fix everything before handover
Fact: The inspector who is assigned with the duty to document his findings from a home inspection and make recommendations is not privy to the sales contract’s details. He is not the one who decides what needs to be repaired and by whom. These decisions are made by the buyer with their realtor’s guidance and may be negotiated by both the parties. Sometimes, the seller is required to hire a third party to do the home inspection before handover. However, it is always advisable for the buyer to do the inspections themselves because they will be staying in the house thereafter, not the seller.
Myth 9: Home inspection is a waste of time &money in Indian climate
Fact: Climatic factors such as rainfall, temperature, and humidity, etc. have a significant effect on civil operations and building construction. India’s predominantly hot and humid weather conditions tend to make any building susceptible to damp. Then there exist poor construction practices. All these factors combined make damp an almost unavoidable problem in urban houses in India. In such a scenario, it is only very obvious for the buyers to believe that home inspection is nothing but sheer wastage of time and money. They think no matter how much they spend on scanning a property the humidity related problems in the home will remain and never be solved. This, unfortunately, is not true. If proper waterproofing or damp-proofing is done based on the report of a home inspection, the life span of the property can be extended by many years.
The above misconceptions have been stopping people from reaping benefits of this extremely helpful home inspection service.Lack of knowledge about construction, property maintenance, and home inspection is behind such indiscretion. Each and every real estate property irrespective of age and condition should be inspected at regular intervals to prevent damage, deterioration, and devaluation with time.This will not only save you, that is, the buyer considerable amount of money but also check the draining of capital on a society level in the long run.