Purchasing a house is by far the largest single investment that any of us plan to make in our life time. Knowing that a first-time home buyer who is 32 years of age on average is about to sign and agree to a 30-year mortgage, it is evident that this decision should be weighed over a significant period of time. However, many home buyers find a home within a week and spend less than one hour viewing the home before buying the house and locking in their interest rate for the next 30 years.

Although we have all lived in a home of one type or another throughout our lives, very few of us have learned how the systems and components of our house interact to keep us safe, dry and warm for decades to come. Those of us that have learned how to identify these systems and components may not be trained to quickly and accurately identify them in a short period of time or accurately identify issues when also considering every aspect of purchasing the new home and the emotional stressors that come with it.

Finding the right home inspector is a difficult endeavor, but the blog post Finding the Best Home Inspector will hopefully help you find the qualities that you are looking for in a home inspector. After hiring a home inspector there are three main areas of benefit that you can expect to receive from the inspection; Safety, Negotiation, and Education.

Safety

There are many things in our home that can harm us such as structural issues, electrical issues, plumbing issues, design issues, inadequate safety systems, inadequate radon mitigation, mold, lead and Asbestos to name a few. If you would like to know why Two Moose Home Inspections does not inspect for Mold, Lead and Asbestos please review the blog post titled The Big Three – Asbestos, Lead, Mold.  

During a home inspection, Two Moose Home Inspections inspects over 135 components as outlined by our standard operating procedure. In addition to these components, our inspectors are always actively searching for major defects which are issues that could cause a significant adverse impact to the value of the house or create an unreasonable risk to people. The inspection report will outline all issues found and will also give you peace of mind when moving into your new home.

Negotiations

After the inspection is complete you will have in writing a complete review of the condition of the house. If the house is beyond repair or has a material defect that is a deal breaker the inspection report gives you one final opportunity to back out of the deal. If the house is able to be repaired and you choose to continue with the transition, you can use the inspection report as a bargaining tool to help ensure you get the best deal possible. This may include a credit for future repairs, or the seller may even complete the repairs before you move into your new home.

Education

Learning about your house is priceless. The inspection report will give you a quick reference guide to the components found in your home and also the shut off valves in case of an emergency. At Two Moose Home Inspections we say, “Know Your Home to Know You’re Home”. This sentence illustrates that knowledge of your home can bring comfort to your home. Our objective is to teach you about your home and not scare you. If you ever feel uncomfortable or worried about issues listed in the home inspection don’t hesitate to contact your home inspector, because in addition to finding the issues a home inspector’s job is also to explain their findings and hopefully alleviate your concerns if that is appropriate.

Finding a home inspector can be as easy as performing a google search but choosing the right home inspector is a roll of the dice. If the home inspector has good reviews, they are probably good, but don’t hesitate to call a home inspector and ask about their services. You might be surprised to find that many home inspectors offer services beyond the inspection of a home for a real estate transaction.

Thank you for reading our article. If you have any questions about residential home inspections, please send us a message. If you would like Two Moose Home Inspections to inspect your property, feel free to schedule an inspection.