How hard is it to pass a home inspection? (appraiser, price, property)

[JD59]

The new owners want a home inspection on my house. What does the home inspector look for? My house was built in 1977 and there is some problems I know of. Does the home inspector check to make sure the home is up to date with the building codes? One problem I have is I don't have a water faucet outside in front of the house. Would this cause a problem?


Thanks, John

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by John1960

The new owners want a home inspection on my house. What does the home inspector look for? My house was built in 1977 and there is some problems I know of. Does the home inspector check to make sure the home is up to date with the building codes? One problem I have is I don't have a water faucet outside in front of the house. Would this cause a problem?


Thanks, John

Home inspections generally identify things that are defective or not working.

Code compliance is generally an issue only on safety stuff and then it is the code that applied when it was built not the current code. Note though if old stuff is busted you may have to bring it up to date in the fix.

Mostly it is things like roof leaks, or places that need calking or slow running drains.

[chet everett]

Right, not a "pass / fail" kind of thing, put a report of "range of potential immeadiate /mid term /long term" problem areas / potential costs.

[Nanny Goat]

Maybe just my experience, but the guy our realtor (hint, hint) chose to do our home inspection missed alot of things before we bought the house--electrical wiring in the house, pool wiring, water heater and other things. It was a joke actually. It must depend on the person you hire and the area you live in, I would imagine.

[Racelady88]

Originally Posted by Phoenix lady

Maybe just my experience, but the guy our realtor (hint, hint) chose to do our home inspection missed alot of things before we bought the house--electrical wiring in the house, pool wiring, water heater and other things. It was a joke actually. It must depend on the person you hire and the area you live in, I would imagine.

My inspector also missed some things, major things. Plumbing items mostly.

John, the buyers will likely use the inspection report to request that you make repairs. You are not required to make any, but items that are safety concerns should be addressed. How hard it is to pass an inspection will depend on how picky the buyers are. I suspect there is not a house on the planet that my husband would say "passed" and inspection.

[TexasGirl@Heart]

Originally Posted by olecapt

Home inspections generally identify things that are defective or not working.

Code compliance is generally an issue only on safety stuff and then it is the code that applied when it was built not the current code. Note though if old stuff is busted you may have to bring it up to date in the fix.

Mostly it is things like roof leaks, or places that need calking or slow running drains.

This is not the case in my state. I am selling my house and have to bring things up to code that were not code when it was built.

[goodbyehollywood]

These days, many realtors and buyers expect home inspectors to be super picky. Today's buyers often expect sellers to fix everything, even things that may have been reflected in the asking price. I recently sold a rental property and the buyers demanded a new roof and a new HVAC system, since the home inspector noted that these were older, though in good repair, and would need to be replaced at some point. They also added cosmetic issues to the home inspector's checklist and threatened to walk if I didn't fix or replace every single thing to their satisfaction.

Their realtor admitted that the buyers read in the media that they should be able to buy a property for at least 10-15% below market and since they weren't able to negotiate the price that low, they wanted improvements to get them to their goal. Their strategy was to use the home inspection as leverage for upgrades, figuring a seller would cave in to their demands to keep the sale. How easy it is to pass an inspection depends on how reasonable the buyers are.

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by TexasGirl@Heart

This is not the case in my state. I am selling my house and have to bring things up to code that were not code when it was built.

That happens in some jurisdictions...but that is not a home inspection issue.

Sometimes a Certificate of Occupancy is required and the municipality requires that certain things be to code before it will issue it. Others may require home inspections by the city and even certification of components like roofs by a licensed contractor.

There are also new building inspectors who do almost nothing but code complaince checking...again though not the normal home inspection.

The standard contract of our home inspectors generally clearly discloses that they do not inspect for code compliance.

[Silverfall]

A home inspector is a generalist. They know a few things about everything. How good the home inspector is depends on how much ongoing education they do.

The purpose of a home inspection is for a buyer to satisfy themselves with the condition of the property. As the home owner, you know the condition of the property because you have lived there. The buyer does not. This is their chance to investigate it to their hearts desire.

It is not a pass fail thing. I've had buyers purchase homes with no repair requests that I thought were crazy, but they liked the house. It "passed" to their satisfaction. I wouldn't have bought it so it would have "failed" to my satisfaction.

Out here buyers typically have not asked for code updates, probably with the exception of adding GFCI's (Ground fault circuit interrupters) which were not code out here in the 70's. Codes change constantly and home inspectors don't inspect for that, at least out here on the west coast where olecapt and I are from.

[Fat Freddy]

Originally Posted by Phoenix lady

It must depend on the person you hire and the area you live in...

Inspectors are like appraisers. Their report depends more on their working relationship with the hiring party then on the condition of the property.