Is the new house you’re thinking of moving into healthy and safe enough? Is the property a great long-term investment? If you have doubts or concerns about the condition of the house, consider getting a professional home inspection. A home inspection reveals existing issues and potential problems with the property and provides information on areas that may need immediate attention or repair work in the future.
While a home inspection can help you make a more confident buying decision, people are still hesitant to seek the expert services of a home inspector. This is mainly because of the myths and misconceptions surrounding the field of home inspection and the role of an inspector.
To put some of your doubts to rest, Steven Walker at Walker Home Inspection has dispelled three of the most widely believed myths about home inspection.
Myth 1: A home inspection provides a pass or fail
This myth exists because home buyers want to be told by an expert that they are making a good decision. However, home inspectors report what they find so that the home buyers can make an informed decision. The home buyer has fallen in love with the home and often fails to see what they don’t want to see or are not trained to see. Home inspectors are focused and critical with no personal interest in the home, only a high interest in serving the client. Home inspectors do not have insight into the home buyer’s personal situation, finances, technical or planning skills, etc. And so, the home inspection is simply one more tool to help the home buyer make their own decision. The home inspector provides a detailed, comprehensive report with photographs and helpful tips, links, and documents along with an experienced, critical eye looking where home buyers do not usually look.
Myth 2: Home inspections are not necessary for a new home
Home buyers expect that a new home has been built to the latest building codes, inspected by municipal building inspectors each step of the way, and are built by quality builders. While building inspectors follow steps and procedures to inspect homes at various stages, there are often many homes to be inspected at varying stages, and it is nearly impossible to catch every problem every time. There are many quality builders that have the home buyer’s best interest in mind, but there are many that do not and view home building as a commodity market in which they can make the highest profit possible. The home buyer often does not know which builder they have. A home inspector works for you and you alone and charges a fair, nominal fee (usually amounting to less than 2% of the closing costs of a $500,000 purchase) for their time, expertise and costs. However, they do not earn income on bulk inspections, rather on one or possibly two inspections per d
Myth 3: Home inspectors provide quotes for repairs needed
What matters to most home buyers is that there are no serious problems with the home they are considering. If there are defects found, home buyers then want to know the potential cost of the repair. Home inspectors cannot provide quotes because, in many cases, it would be a guess and would not serve anyone. Often more problems are found when a destructive examination is done. Fortunately, sometimes the problem is not as bad as it seems. Either way, the home inspector cannot perform a destructive examination and so there is no way to provide a quote of any true value. The home inspector can only recommend the required specialist that is needed to perform further evaluation of specific issues. This problem is solved by using a third party that provides average costs for repairs noted in the inspection report for the type of house and area.
To find a trusted home inspector who can perform a thorough inspection and help you make a more confident buying decision, reach out to Steven Walker at Walker Home Inspection. As an InterNACHI and CAHPI Certified home inspector based in the Napanee area I am well positioned to quickly respond to inspection needs at short notice serving communities from Cobourg to Kingston as well as Eastern Ontario cottage country, I follow and exceed the CAHPI professional standards of practice and ensure high-quality, comprehensive home inspection services with added-value education and interaction with home owners and buyers.
I serve home owners and buyers by providing the same level of detailed inspection whether planning to list your property for sale, before purchasing after a conditional offer has been made, for homeowners that are diligent about ongoing maintenance of their home, or for Multi-Family property investors. All inspections include an infrared scan, moisture test and/or scope as required for a complete evaluation.
To learn more about the services I provide, please click here. If you have any questions about home inspection, get in touch with me by clicking here.
