May The Luck of The Irish Be With Your Home Purchase

By Brenda Masse
Special Contributor

In this fast-moving market, it takes a little luck to find a home in the area you want, in your price range, with the right timing if you’re selling your current home, and on and on. With so many factors at play, you may be tempted to skip the home inspection once you actually find a house and make an offer. 

But you know what else is lucky? Finding out the house you want to buy needs major foundation work before you sign the contract. Knowing ahead of time that the electrical wiring isn’t to code and could cause a fire. To quote an Irish saying, “May the blessings of each day be the blessings you need the most.”

Here are some “lucky” #HomeInspectionFinds:

Attic Critter

The new homeowner would have been surprised to find they had a rather sizable roommate living in the attic. Now they can make sure the critters move out before they move in.

Roof Leak

Here, the inspector notices missing drip edge flashing on the roof, which leads him to investigate further, to find the perfect example of why you want drip edge flashing. Drip edge is metal flashing installed at the edges of the roof to keep water away from your fascia and from getting underneath your roofing components. If your roof doesn’t have it, water can get behind the gutters and rot out the fascia board, roof decking, and into the walls, as in this video.

Garage Ventilation

As of February 2022, Texas home inspectors are now required to call out garage doors that connect to the home that do not self-close. Why do we want self-closing doors to the garage? Because there are fire hazards and sources of carbon monoxide in there. In the event of a fire, a closed door helps prevent the fire from spreading into the home. In the event of carbon monoxide build-up, (like from a running car, or a water heater without a vent, as in the video), a closed door prevents the poisonous fumes from spreading as quickly into the home.

If you’re concerned about leaving your home’s maintenance to luck, you don’t have to be a buyer or seller to have a home inspection. You can have a Home Maintenance Inspection any time to make sure everything is working as it should, and help you prepare for and prevent future problems.