A Home Inspection can Save You Money and Stress

Do I Have to waste money on having a Home Inspection?  This question crosses the mind of many home buyers.   When making the largest investment in your future, knowing what your buying can never be a bad thing.   A Professional Home inspection will identify issues and deficiencies with a home that may otherwise go unnoticed.  Small items on a home that are ignored can often become a very expensive repair and project.

Learning About Your New Home

Do I Have to Attend the Home Inspection?  Yes, if at all possible attend the home inspection.  This will be opportunity to become educated about your home and its major systems.  With over 20 years of home inspection experience and 40 years of building inspection experience the Barrie Home Inspector can provide valuable advice and point out deficiencies, explaining their importance and any recommendations for repair.

Does My New Home Pass ?

Is There a Pass or Fail of a Home Inspection?  No, there is no such “bench mark”which can be given to any home.   A home inspection points out existing deficiencies and any potential expenses, such as roof life expectancy or remaining life for your gas furnace for example.  Every person has a different viewpoint on each and every item covered by a home inspection.  For a professional inspector to impose his point of view to a client would be very unprofessional.  The home inspection identifies the major and minor deficiencies in a home, the inspector will provide professional information about the issues but in the end it is the buyer’s choice whether to buy the property after being informed about the overall condition of the home.

Should You Waive Your Home Inspection

Home Inspection Waiver – Typically home owners will have from 5 to 10 days to have a home inspection on the home they are purchasing.  This contingency provides that if conditions are found during the home inspection that are significant, you can back out of your offer free of any penalties.  In a Seller’s Market sometimes conditions are waived by buyers when facing a “bidding war” on a property they want to purchase.  Currenty the market, realtors and even lawyers are recommending to buyers that they not accept offers that include a home inspection.  Some buyers are getting around this by having a walk through inspection during an arranged showing.  Considering the amount of money being invested,  any protection is better than none.

I was recently in a home bought with no home inspection by people from out of town.  There were some major issues with the floor and a structural engineer would be required to determine the extent of repairs needed.  This would entail the cost of an engineer and the renovation costs of repairing missing supporting walls.  The sloping floor issues may never be able to be fixed without damaging all the upper drywall which would crack when floors were leveled.   Whether or not the seller was aware of these issues will probably never be known,  but the buyer now has to live with the results of not have a professional home inspection.

Don’t Be a DIY Victim

Importance of Building Permits – If a renovation was completed on your home and no building permit was taken out you will be assuming responsibility for all the deficiencies that may be present.  When a building permit is issued the builder or contractor will submit plans for approval to the local building department.  Inspections are then carried out prior to any electrical, plumbing, structural or heating systems are covered in.   A final inspection is completed and if there are no problems the Permit is closed with the Final Inspection.

WETT Certified Inspections

If your new home has wood burning appliances then it is important that you obtain a Certified WETT Inspection prior to purchasing.  Most insurance companies now require a Certified WETT Inspection on any wood burning appliance prior to insuring your home.  Fireplaces, wood stoves, pellet stoves, fireplace inserts and wood burning furnaces are not “grandfather protected” and any item that is non-compliant could prevent you from obtaining insurance.

I was inspecting a home with a fireplace insert installed recently.  The people had just purchased the home with out obtaining a Home Inspection.  Their chimney for the fireplace insert was missing the required stainless steel liner, which was easily identified from the ground.  Further investigation found that the insert had been completely sealed in the opening by the brick installation and could not be removed without the removal of the brick veneer. 

Any professional home inspector would have noticed this immediately allowing the buyers to take this major expense into consideration when purchasing the home.  When purchasing a property in Orillia call the Orillia WETT Inspector to ensure you are fully aware of your wood burning appliances condition.

When you include your WETT Inspection with a Home Inspection the fee is only $75.00.  You save $100.00.   WETT report is issued at time of inspection.

Call Roger Frost today for your Professional Home Inspection.    705-795-8255

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Roger is always available to answer questions or provide information on Home Inspections or WETT Inspections.