Questions to Ask Your Home Inspector Before Buying a House

Whether you are buying or selling a home, you need to enlist the help of a certified home inspector. As a buyer, the home inspection process can either get you more excited to move into home or back away from the purchase altogether. For sellers, the home inspection allows you to know what repairs or changes you should make to increase the sale value of your house before you open it up to potential buyers.

Choosing a Home Inspector

The inspector should conduct a thorough investigation of everything from your house’s foundation to the plumbing system to its electrical wiring. You want to partner with an experience inspection company that will uncover any major issues that could significantly impact the selling or buying of a home. Before you partner with a provider, you want to conduct your own investigation of your potential home inspector by asking these five questions:

1. Are you a member of a regional or national home inspectors association?
2. How long have you been in business?
3. What does your inspection process cover?
4. How long will it take to receive the inspection report?
5. How much will your services cost?

Questions to Ask a Home Inspector After Inspection

After you have fully vetted your home inspector, you also want to ask them these two questions before you decide to move in:

1. What Red Flags Were Found in the Home Inspection Report?

Not every problem your home inspector finds will make or break the sale. For example, if they discover a bathroom’s faucet is leaking, this should not keep you from continuing to buy the home. Yet, if they uncover serious structural, health or efficiency issues, you might want to take a step back and think critically about buying the home. Common red flags during the inspection process include asbestos, mold or water damage.

If you think the living room needs more light or the kitchen is smaller than you like, these are personal preferences, not red flags. Meanwhile, if the foundation is crumbling or the roof is leaking, these are serious concerns you should bring up with your realtor and the seller. Even if you encounter one of these problems, however, this doesn’t mean you have to abandon your intent to purchase. Instead, alter your negotiation tactic and see if the sellers will reduce the price to account for the cost of repairs or even conduct the remediation or upgrades themselves.

If you need to increase the energy-efficiency of your home or replace outdated, leaky windows, look no further than NewSouth Window Solutions. Come to us to learn more about our energy efficient, factory-direct windows. We offer Florida-made windows for Florida residents because we understand the challenges of keeping a home air conditioned during the hot summer months or warm during the cold winter season.

2. Who Fixes the Home Inspection Related Issues?

Before you approach the seller about the problems, you want to ask your home inspector who they think should fix the areas of concern. Sometimes, you might think that a problem is far more serious than it actually is and your inspector could mitigate these concerns by simply pointing you to your local hardware store. For more serious issues, like leaky, cracked windows or bad electrical wiring, they may be able to suggest local electricians or factory-direct window companies that could handle these problems. Then, you want to reach out the sellers to see if they will reduce the selling price to cover the costs or handle the repairs on their own with your suggestions.

Contact us today to schedule a free consultation about how our energy-efficient windows may be the right fit for your home repair project!