Home Inspection (Sioux Falls, Lead, White: real estate, appliances, how much)

[cbest23]

Hey everyone, hope things are going well! My wife and I are buying a new home in the western part of Sioux Falls and are looking to have the home inspected. Does anyone have any experiences with home inspectors in the area or any recommendations of any good inspectors? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in Advance..

[SDHomesteader]

Nope never blown my money on something I could always do myself. Make sure your there with them when they do it is my suggestion. Passed on Inspections on all 3 of the houses I have owned, never regretted it, a little common sense can help you locate any problems yourself instead of paying someone else to do it lol.

[rjl78]

Originally Posted by SDHomesteader

Nope never blown my money on something I could always do myself. Make sure your there with them when they do it is my suggestion. Passed on Inspections on all 3 of the houses I have owned, never regretted it, a little common sense can help you locate any problems yourself instead of paying someone else to do it lol.

That was what I was thinking. If you want a check list of things to look at we could compile a list for you. Personally not a fan of hiring an inspector.

[Jammie]

Originally Posted by SDHomesteader

Nope never blown my money on something I could always do myself. Make sure your there with them when they do it is my suggestion. Passed on Inspections on all 3 of the houses I have owned, never regretted it, a little common sense can help you locate any problems yourself instead of paying someone else to do it lol.

Ditto. We have never done that either. Would you consider going without one? I know your question was about specific ones so we're really not answering that for you, are we? But I'm sure we could all chip in a with suggestions of what to look for.

I do realize that nowadays a lot of people have their future house inspected and there may be a reason for it in some areas of the country. We just don't have that much mold or hurricane/flood, termite, etc. damages that could possibly be hidden.

[rjl78]

Foundations, roofing, drainage are the main things to really watch for around these parts.

[cbest23]

Thanks everyone for your help. My main reason is that everything that I've read/heard suggests always using a home inspector if just to be sure that a home is in good condition. Since I've moved here last October from New York, I've been getting used to how things are done in Sioux Falls/Midwest concerning homes. Most haven't used a real estate lawyer, nor had their home inspected ( a few friends did use inspectors though ). I grew up in New Jersey before moving to New York and everyone, unless trying to save money, gets lawyers, home inspections,etc when purchasing a home. I guess it's because so many people get burned when purchasing property. My mom's been burned before when not using a lawyer with real estate. Also, home inspections saved my parents money before as well. I have a friend who didn't use a home inspector and recently found out he has $60,000 or so in repairs after buying a home without a inspector or having a home warranty policy from the seller. I guess I figure spending a few hundred now might save me thousands later. Thanks again for the help guys. Still looking, I'll let you know what happens.

[rjl78]

60K in work? Wow was it foundation work? Its rare that people have to lawyer up for real estate transactions. Perhaps when its private party and no use of a real estate agent.

I guess a home inspector isn't always a magic catcher of all things "wrong" with a property.

[MJ1986]

Originally Posted by cbest23

Thanks everyone for your help. My main reason is that everything that I've read/heard suggests always using a home inspector if just to be sure that a home is in good condition. Since I've moved here last October from New York, I've been getting used to how things are done in Sioux Falls/Midwest concerning homes. Most haven't used a real estate lawyer, nor had their home inspected ( a few friends did use inspectors though ). I grew up in New Jersey before moving to New York and everyone, unless trying to save money, gets lawyers, home inspections,etc when purchasing a home. I guess it's because so many people get burned when purchasing property. My mom's been burned before when not using a lawyer with real estate. Also, home inspections saved my parents money before as well. I have a friend who didn't use a home inspector and recently found out he has $60,000 or so in repairs after buying a home without a inspector or having a home warranty policy from the seller. I guess I figure spending a few hundred now might save me thousands later. Thanks again for the help guys. Still looking, I'll let you know what happens.

Ahh, I can see your concerns! I think it's a good idea, if you can afford it. Then again, I have no idea how much something like that would run.
I'm still young and haven't owned a home yet, but I myself would have no idea what to look for when doing a personal inspection myself. Always better to be safe than sorry.

[SDHomesteader]

No offense but was your friend wearing blind Glasses when he did a walk through of the house, 60k worth of repairs, Something would have stuck out like a sore thumb. At least to me it would have.

The main concern that most inspectors are hired for is plumbing and electrical work (not the only thing they are hired for) as most people aren't too familiar with plumbing and electrical stuff and most of the stuff is actually hidden behind walls per se. Foundation, as well as roof and other structural things should be checked as well. Rap your Knuckles on some of the beams, a good solid sound should be heard, hollow or not a solid sound would indicate crappy wood or wood damage from the inside (termites or carpenter ants). Find out from the owner when the Roof was last replaced, and how many layers it has, At least when we were in Iowa, the law stated no more than 3 layers of Roofs (shingles) could be had on one roof.

Look at the breaker box, See if the wires that are coming into the breaker box (the wires hooked to the Breakers themselves, not the Primary wires coming in from the top from the lectric company) and see if they have the White Coating on them (romax) that hoards the 3 wires together into one wire I guess is a good way to explain it. If the wires DON"T have the white rubberized coating on them (that makes them one wire per se, if someone else can explain this better than me feel free lol) than the wiring is most definately NOT up to code. Now, that doesn't mean the wiring isn't safe, it just means that it isn't up to code.

Plumbing, Check for Steel pipes versus Copper pipes, Copper pipes are better and I think up to code versus the steel one, unless they've changed it now and require PVC or other plastic pipe now (damn codes lol). Copper pipe though could have Lead Solder in it as well. Now I don't know what all the big deal is about lead as when I was younger I used to chew on the Lead Sinker Weights for fishing and I feel just fine and I have reproduced successfully twice now regardless of what California Says. Maybe its because I don't live in California and it only affects people there lol. If the Pipe coming into the house is steel and the pipe in the house is Copper there needs to be a Dilectric (spelling on that one) union between the Copper and steel pipes. My house up here has both copper and steel piping and I plan to change it all over to copper at my earliest convienence.

If you can see into the attic or attic crawlspace area, look in there during the highest sun of the day, (noon lol) and see if you can see any daylight peaking in at you, also check for any bowed rafter or joists, that would indicate a problem structurally. Its also a good thing to check after a rain happens to come by. Look for any moisture marks.

Same with the Foundation, Check after a rain, that will indicate if there is any leakage in the basement, also discolored cement on the floor or walls would indicate this as well. Look for cracks or any daylight coming through the foundation (daylight at the upper levels not the lower levels lol).

Like I said, just a bit of common sense while doing the walk through can be very helpful, Look for obvious things but don't miss the not so obvious. Another thing to check is the Dates on the Furnace and water heaters, that will give you an approximate date on how old they are and when they were put into the house. Bring a Spray bottle of soapy water (this will only work if the gas is on in the house) and spray any Gasline connections to see if any bubbles form (put a small amount of dish soap in the water in the spray bottle).

Also occasionally I have noticed up here that 90% of the furnaces are propane, You really want to be adamant about leakage on the propane furnace if its mounted int he basement. Propane is heavier than air and Pools in a basement when a leak starts and next thing ya know, Kablooey. Our propane heater is In the living room but our Water heater is in the basement, I check it once a month, sometimes more often, for leaks.

Hope this helps ya

[andyroo]

I've never bought a home before because I'm still just a kid but not getting a $300 to $400 home inspection would be a silly mistake in my eyes. Considering the price of a home and the possible price of repairs, it is a tiny investment. Plus, if anything does go wrong after the inspection that the inspector should have mentioned then the inspector's company gets to pay for it!

And as far as gas appliances goes, just call the gas company. Most gas companies do the inspection for free. Why risk a kablooey?