Thinking of Skimping on The Inspection? Here Are a Few Shocking Reasons Not to
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Every week, the detail-oriented folks at Green Scene Home Inspections will give CandysDirt.com readers an education in inspection. Want to see what they see? Tune in for “Upon Closer Inspection.”
In the competitive Dallas-Fort Worth real estate market, it’s hard to be picky when it comes to asking for repairs. As a home buyer competing against multiple offers, you may not be able to use your inspection to negotiate much, but you should still pay close attention to this part of the process so you know how to plan for the future, especially with the big five areas of a house: foundation, plumbing, HVAC, roof, and electrical.
With the electrical system, you want to know if you’re moving into a house that has dangerous conditions, improper installation, things that don’t work, or maybe an outdated system that will need to be fully replaced. What’s it going to cost to move in, versus things that will need fixing eventually?
Here’s a case that needs prompt action: it’s a fire or electrocution waiting to happen.
“My cousin said he knows a guy …”
This house was filled with patched together electrical hackery that screamed, “My cousin said he knows a guy …”
Here, they’re trying to ground this wire by sticking it in the grounding prong hole in the outlet. Sigh. Always, always, always use a licensed electrician for your electrical work.
A Dangerous Relic
In an older home, particularly one that hasn’t been updated, you could run into scary things like this. This exposed wire (with a metal connector on a wood surface!) is an accident waiting to happen.
In this hot, hot, hot market some home buyers may be tempted to skip the home inspection, but at what other time do you take the opportunity to go over the home with a fine-toothed comb?
What about you? Did you skip your home inspection?
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No, I did not skip the inspection…did just the opposite. Before I began a MAJOR remodel (by choice, not a result of tornado or freeze), Move out of the home for six months kind of remodel, using the builder who built the home for us, I hired an inspector to come do an inspection as if we were selling the home. The great news is that he told me that the home was extremely well-built and had no shifting after 16 years. There were literally a couple of minor things that he found, but it was worth the cost of the inspection for the peace of mind to know that we were spending several hundred thousand dollars on a remodel and not discover that we had some major issues after the fact!
The inspector said he had never had an inspection for that purpose before.
That’s really smart, Michael! Is your remodel finished?