Homebuyers who are overly eager to become homeowners often miss or skip one very important step in the process. This step is home inspection services. They spend their limits on buying their dream houses or starter homes, and then they are floored when they have their first major repair before they have spent their first month or first year in the home. If you think that you have found your perfect little slice of home heaven, have it inspected before you make an offer. Here is why this step is SO important.
Owners Do Not Have to Disclose Everything in the Sale Advertisements
In some states, it is not required that owners disclose every detail of every part of the home. If the furnace is really old and not long for this world, they do not have to tell you that. If they replaced the roof twenty years ago and the home is now due for a new one, they do not have to tell you that either. If the basement was flooded just this spring and gets flooded every couple of years, that is another example of something that does not have to be disclosed. This is all stuff you would definitely want to know before you buy the home, but the responsibility of discovering these issues is technically and legally up to the buyer. A home inspector can quickly and easily uncover all of these problems and more.
There May Be Some Issues That the Owners Do Not Know Exist
Homeowners have a tendency to settle into a state of complacency and take their homes for granted a little bit. They know they will eventually have to fix or replace this or that, but until it actually breaks down or is damaged, they may not know that they have a problem. A home inspector uncovers unknown issues that the owners will then have to address, either through repairing or replacing it before selling the home or by leaving the option up to the buyer and deducting the estimated cost of repair from the selling price of the home.
Problems with the Home Become Bargaining Leverage
Once a home inspector has uncovered every major functional, structural, and mechanical issue with a home, he or she will present you with a report. You can use that report to bargain for a lower price on the home and fix the issues yourself, or you can haggle with the seller to have everything fixed first and pay the seller the asking price on the home. Either way, it works to your benefit to reduce any surprise expenses after you move into the home.
For more information on home inspections, contact a company like Home Inspection Associate.