Thus you shouldn't have bothered with one and checked yourself.
Two points here though:
1) Hindsight is 20/20
2) Easier said than done.
Thread Home inspections! They do nothing!
- Thread starter dbzeag
- Start date
Thus you shouldn't have bothered with one and checked yourself.
Two points here though:
1) Hindsight is 20/20
2) Easier said than done.
Amstel
The Hoarse Whisperer
most mort co's up here require them, but I think it's more of a 'let's get more than one person to look at this property before we write a check.'
borrower
appraiser
inspector
That's not worth the cost. I can easily find obvious problems with a house. Inspectors then shouldn't exist. Though, I think we are missing something.
She owns her own company. She "worked" for over 3 hours and gave me a 35 page report, complete with pictures etc. She was $325 to inspect.
A contractor will know EXACTLY what to look for and should be up to date with the area codes so they should be able to identify the issues for you far more clearly, but you would need a different contractor for each function of the house for that much detail. That gets mega pricy.
Amstel
The Hoarse Whisperer
My lender sent out their own inspector, but mainly to do the appraisal. I did not see that report, only the appraisal. Home inspections and such are not required as far as I know. Just good practice, supposedly.
I dunno. I had one hell of a home inspector. He measured temp's coming into, and leaving, cooling vents all through the house and reported the variances from what they should be. He went itno the attack, and showed where the firewall is dodgy. Ran voltage on all the outlets. Gave me a report on my HVAC. ran temps on plumbing. Checked all appliances. Ran warranty information on anything warrantied. Checked structure. Used him 3 times. First 2 times, he found things no way I would have, and saved me homes.
It all depends on the inspector. Lots of them are fly by night fuckers. My realtor had an inside track to this guy who was, beyond a doubt, well worth his money. Expensive inspection, but saved me thousands.
It all depends on the inspector. Lots of them are fly by night fuckers. My realtor had an inside track to this guy who was, beyond a doubt, well worth his money. Expensive inspection, but saved me thousands.
Bottom line is now that I have such a thorough report from my last inspection (it wasn't ALL bad, just missing parts), add to that the information I now know what else to look for, and study up on the local codes for electric/water/gas/etc, I can make a better informed hunt for a house next time.
Too bad their won't be a next time.
Too bad their won't be a next time.
Amstel
The Hoarse Whisperer
that 35 page report is mostly fill in the blank - with pictures. And lot's of times, the inspection programs can suck the info off the MLS for room sizes, etc. Pop the memory card out of the camera & into the laptop & poof. My college room mate owns an inspection co.
Was she walking around w/an ipad?
A good inspector will tell you how many years are left on the roof, check the foundation, check for termites, check the hvac, plumbing, and test all the outlets (if electricity is turned on), along with telling you if the furnace and ac ate old or have problems.
And on some states you can go back on the inspector for missing these things.
I think your inspector is just horrible.
Did you buy a warranty plan on the house to cover shit like this for the first year?
And on some states you can go back on the inspector for missing these things.
I think your inspector is just horrible.
Did you buy a warranty plan on the house to cover shit like this for the first year?
My inspector did all of that, including measuring the temperature of the ovens when set to 350 as well as measuring the floor heights to make sure the house was level. She was very thorough in what she did, and it wasn't wasted. Just missing some very vital and key information.
Amstel
The Hoarse Whisperer
She did check for all that but the termites, had another inspector check that out. She found that the AC did have an issue and we got the seller to fix it before buying. I went back to her, but she is under no liability for her findings, so it was pointless.
I bought the warranty plan, but they only cover certain things. For instance, this rusting water line issue, the warranty company covered $598 of the $800 it was to replace two toilets (yes you can do it for cheaper on your own) and that was it. The warranty company didn't even pay ANY of the gas leak fixes. As for the HVAC, because that contractor said he could make a justified claim to teh warranty company that the furnace is a hazard, I can get maybe $1000 off the next one, which is marked up $1500 over MSRP anyway.