Congratulations on buying your new home.
The process can be stressful. A home inspection is supposed to give you peace of mind but often has the opposite effect. You will be asked to absorb a lot of information in a short time. This often includes a written report, checklist, photographs, environmental reports, and what the inspector himself says during the inspection. All this combined with the seller’s disclosure and what you notice yourself makes the experience even more overwhelming. What should you do?
Relax. Most of your inspection will be maintenance recommendations, life expectancies and minor imperfections. These are nice to know about. However, the issues that really matter will fall into four categories:
- Major defects. An example of this would be a significant structural failure.
- Things that may lead to major defects. A small water leak coming from a piece of roof flashing, for example.
- Things that may hinder your ability to finance, legally occupy, or insure the home. Structural damage caused by termite infestation, for example.
- Safety hazards. Such as a lack of GFCI-protection.
Anything in these categories should be corrected. Often a serious problem can be corrected inexpensively to protect both life and property (especially in categories 2 and 4).
Most sellers are honest and are often surprised to learn of defects uncovered during an inspection. Realize that sellers are under no obligation to repair everything mentioned in the report. No home is
perfect.
Keep things in perspective. Don’t kill your deal over things that don’t matter. It is inappropriate to demand
that a seller address deferred maintenance, conditions already listed on the seller’s disclosure or nit-picky items.
