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I'm an engineer and electrician with maybe 15 years total in the construction industry...
And I would bring in an inspector. usually when I do my walkthrough I let my sig other focus on room layouts and kitchen and storage space, and I tend to pay attention to the build construction, utilities and potential problem areas. But even when I make an offer, I would bring in an inspector just to back up things I've found, and do other tests that I don't have the equipment to do (nor do I want to) like Radon and such.
Plus it gives you leverage if you do find issues and want to resolve them.
I know, I know...usual wisdom is to ALWAYS, ALWAYS get an inspection done.
But after reading his report, and paying attention to some of the stuff he was doing while he was there, I really ended up feeling like I paid someone $350 to tell me things I already knew or could easily see myself, as he's only reporting problems that are easily seen.
So, do you see no purpose in your parents getting a regular checkup from a doctor, because if they were sick they'd know it already? Sometimes that doesn't work so well after you pass a certain age. And truthfully, if all their doctor did was glance at them, shake hands, and send them away, I wouldn't see much purpose in it either. Hopefully a checkup will involve more than that.
Yes, the plumbing inspection on the house I just bought saved me $25,000 (in repairs that the sellers had to pay for) by detecting problems that nobody already knew about or could easily see by themselves.
Be sure to get experienced, highly regarded inspectors with the proper equipment and knowledge to do a thorough inspection.
We've only hired a home inspector once for a potential home, and he told us the roof was fine, but when we checked, it was rotten in a bunch of places. Turns out, the guy was buddy, buddy with the seller's real estate agent.
There is nothing wrong with inspecting a home yourself as long as you know what your doing and you have the realtor with you while you doing it.
Here is a pretty good article to read if your on the fence on home inspecting.
I think it's worth to spend a little money to save thousands later on. But I don't use an inspector. I call in the local companies for roof, AC, plumbing, electric and pest control. They each charge a flat rate and "inspect" their specialized area and give me feedback. Worked great for me personally. Either way, I would do something official.
Many people are fully capable of doing their own inspections. I built an addition onto our home and did everything but the poured concrete foundation myself. I could have don't that too, but it was more efficient to have it done by a local contractor. If you can open an entrance box and understand what you are looking at you should be good to go for electrical. Those outlet meters cost under $5 in building supply stores. Practices in Arkansas would not work in Maine due to snow loads in Maine. We have no termites. Down south, you need to be concerned about termites.
If you are a novice, a good home inspection can save you a lot of money and grief.
Inspection is your best investment of the house deal. We got $3000 off for minor repairs. A good realtor uses it for your advantage. Also they do very thorough job, check so many things most people do not have knowledge. It gives you piece of mind.
... it almost seems like I'm just paying someone to take a longer look at a house because the realtors seem to want to get me in and out of the place inside of 5 minutes ...
Do you have your own buyer's representative or are you just contacting the seller's Realtor directly? I've always toured houses with my own Realtor and I have never had one who rushed me through houses. (I wouldn't keep them if they did.) They are looking with me and pointing out things they notice about the house. A valuable extra set of eyes for me.
When I've gone to open houses alone, I've always had the host Realtors be very accommodating to my taking a good look around and then answering my questions. If you're being rushed through, is it possible they don't consider you a serious buyer? That would be especially possible if you have no professional representative. Usually your own rep gets you into a house via a lockbox and you tour when the sellers are not home. In that case, who cares how long you stay?
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