Buying a home, do you know a good inspector ? What should I know about inspection process? (countertops, water heater)

[greenthinker]

I will need an inspector soon for the house I made offer on. Let me know if you know someone/companies are good. What should I know about inspection process? Thank you.

[ji603]

Whomever you choose, be there during the inspection. Make sure that you're aware of the condition of the big ticket items like the roof, AC, furnace, etc. Other than that, they'll test the plumbing, the polarity of the electric outlets, let you know about the water heater, attic insulation depth, and other minor things.

They won't catch everything, and can't be expected to. It's a small consolation, but most houses will come with a home warranty for a year. That will defray some of the unexpected costs of replacing things, but be prepared to spend +- 2% of the home value a year on repairs.

It takes owning a house and dealing with electric, plumbing, garage doors, sprinklers, tile/grout etc. etc. before you really know what to look for!

Lol. Good luck; I'm sure it's fine.

[greenthinker]

Thank you for your suggestions. I will develop a check list when I follow the inspector.

[musicforme]

Here are a list of things I wish I would have checked there were NOT part of the inspection process.

- Sprinkler/Drip system - one of the lines in the backyard had a small leak in it, also one of the valves would flood the backyard when run, suggest running the system for a full cycle to make sure it works properly

- Double check the quality of any repair work in the house - we bought our house from an investor who bought it at a trustee sale. The investor used thinset instead of grout in the landry room and one of the bathrooms.

- Some of the rooms in our house were re-painted. We only realized after the fact they used a sprayer and weren't real careful about it. When we turned the blinds to face the opposite direction, we only then saw that some of them had overspray on them.

- Some of the blinds also don't open/close with the twist stick thing

We're not too terribly upset about the above items since we got the house at $64 a sq ft and it was mostly move in ready.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Not sure if radon is a concern in AZ? A radon test takes 3 days and no windows can be open during that time. It's a separate charge from the regular inspection.

[asufan]

Originally Posted by SouthernBelleInUtah

Not sure if radon is a concern in AZ? A radon test takes 3 days and no windows can be open during that time. It's a separate charge from the regular inspection.

Not really. It's a basement thing.

[azriverfan.]

1. Hire your own home inspector. Don't use the one the realtor refers to you. There is a conflict of interest with the realtor referred inspector because that inspector relies upon referrals provided by that realtor. Therefore, the inspector has less incentive to find fault with the house that could result in the buyer pulling out of the deal.

2. Know the home inspector is not responsible for checking certain aspects of the home. Case in point, our sprinkler and drip system was not working properly. The previous owners had accidentally damaged it while digging and doing yard work. We ended up paying $1500 to repair this because stones were found in the piping and they had to dig and replace piping which included a lot of labor and replacement of sprinkler heads and parts. We discoverd this problem immediately after buying and moving into the home. The home inspector isn't responsible for issues that are considered outside the home unit which means the yard and landscaping. Make sure you check a lot of these things yourself

3. Beware of Home inspector's with fancy websites and higher prices. I once hired a person who fit this profile. He had a catchy website and charged more money. I assumed I was hiring a "professional" It turned out he was a horrible inspector who missed things like the broken glass in the garage door that will cost money to replace. That was something obvious. It also taught me a lesson that I as the homeowner should inspect many aspects of the home myself as well and ask the inspector to verify things I found questionable.

4. Call Home Inspectors on the phone and get quotes. Talk to them. A lot of them are snooty while others are very salesy and fake. Talk to them on the phone. The one I ultimately hired for my last house was the one I had the most rapport with on the phone and who answered my questions and was polite. Guess what, he was great to deal with in person too. The ones who gave me attitude or wouldn't answer my questions on the phone were the ones I avoided. You want someone who is approachable and patient. If they can't talk to you on the phone then how are they going to act in person? Ask them if they check extra things like the sprinkler and drip system. Also ask for references from home buyers.

5. A Re-inspection costs extra money. A home inspector can make recommended changes. The seller can then address those changes. But often times you won't know if they honored that agreement and having your home inspector go back in and reinspect the house to make sure the changes took place is a good idea. It does cost extra money though (usually another $100) I think it's worth it.

6. Take pictures and be aware of things in the home that belong in the home. For example, our home came with certain curtains. They are a part of the home and the seller can't take those home. The seller tried to do that but I caught them because I was aware of what was in the home prior to them cleaning it out.

7. Be present during the inspection and the reinspection. Make sure the home inspector works for you. Often times, the home inspector might try to network with your realtor. With one of our houses, this is exactly what happened. He spent most of that inspection networking with our realtor because he wanted a new referral source. He ended up doing a bad job. This is the inspector we found with the fancy website and high charges. On our second home, i was present during the inspection and we focused on the house itself. There was no chit chat between the inspector and the realtor and it went well.

[greenthinker]

radon is a scary thing. Should we check it out?

[asufan]

Originally Posted by greenthinker

radon is a scary thing. Should we check it out?

No. Like I said before, it's a basement thing, and they are rare in AZ. I just coincidentally happen to have a basement in my home, and I brought it up to the inspector, and he indicated he would do it, but that I don't have the type of soil that typically has a radon problem (I think it's granite, not sure). I saved my money and decided against it. By the way, granite countertops do give off radon. Dirty little secret.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Radon map from the gov't:
http://www.epa.gov/radon/images/zonemapcolor_800.jpg

However, I am in Zone 2 and I had a problem, levels too high for my basement. Looks like most of AZ is in Zone 2. OTOH, my neighbor across the street had the test done and her basement is fine. It can vary quite widely by small differences in location.