Annually, five percent of every home inspection fails. How can you be sure that your home assessment is accurate? “As a seller, making plans for your home to be inspected needs careful consideration,” says Anthony Wardan.
Anthony Wardan is a director at Maple Living. Maple Living is a licensed business that renovates and inspects homes accurately.
If you have been given an inaccurate report, what steps can you take? Some signs of inaccuracy are visible, some are not. If you want to identify these signs, you must be present during the whole sales period. These preparations allow you to tackle any problems you might face during future inspections.
What is a home inspection?
A home inspection is the front and back assessment of a house, done by an authorized home inspector. A home inspection is normally financed by the purchaser of the house.
A home inspector gives detailed information about the conditions of the house, good or bad to the new homebuyer. It is up to the buyer whether to buy or not to buy. The purchaser may decline to buy if the inspection is not satisfactory. He may also decide to bargain the price according to the restoration cost.
Home inspectors assess every nook and cranny of the house and the surrounding areas. They check the wiring (electrical), building structure, mechanical, and plumbing for any defects.
The drainage system of a house and building issues can render the inspection unsuccessful.
What you should do as buyers
- Check the legitimacy, moral ethics, and skills of the inspectors before employing them.
- Know their area of expertise, what they should cover, and the range of their work.
- Hire an experienced real estate agent.
What sellers should do
- Have a comprehensive understanding of the damages in your house before listing it for sale.
- Know what the inspection entails.
- Prepare your house to aid the inspector in doing meticulous work.
- Ready to give answers to questions, offer a detailed description, and give extra proof to the inspectors.
How to know that the inspection is inaccurate
An example would be given below to give you tips on what to look for.
Let us assume you went to view a house without an inspector. Then you notice moisture stains in the interior of the cabinet beneath the kitchen sink. It is an indication that something is wrong with the plumbing and water is leaking somewhere. When there is water leakage and water stains, other issues would have developed. The cabinet itself will be weakened, there might be infestations of pests and insects. Microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) that thrive in moist environments may have already been there.
After the inspection of the house, you make a bid and it is accepted by the seller. Thereafter, you request an inspection to be done. The inspection report was given to you. Other issues were indicated but the water stains were not mentioned. It is a signal that the inspection was either false, unreliable or not thoroughly done.
The next sign to look out for is that the inspection is hastily done. That is, the duration is less than what you expected, especially if the house is huge.
Why you should inspect again before buying
If you discover that the report is not accurate, point it out to the seller to repair them. If there is an agreement, inspect it again to verify the repairs have been done. Check if the repairs were expertly done.
The house might have small issues that can be quickly resolved yet the inspector is adamant about using a specific firm. This is an indicator that the inspector is referring you to his contacts. Find out if the inspector referred to you by your real estate broker is the same person given to others. If it is confirmed, then the inspector is not truthful and under-reports house damages for quick sales.
You should also request a second inspection if the report given has no pictorial details. “Do not accept the first report if the entire residence is not included in the report,” warned Anthony Wardan.
Why a second inspection is a must for sellers
Sometimes, sellers may also be innocent when it comes to inaccurate results. The inspectors may lie to them to quickly get their commission and move on to the next deal.
Inspectors may give sellers inaccurate reports that could undervalue the price of their properties.
Insist on another inspection if the details of your house given in the report are untrue or exaggerated. Incorrect details will reduce the value of your house in the market.
The inspector keeps referring you to his contacts for repair when you have other professionals to use.
Do not fret because your first sale was not successful. Find another inspector to make a comprehensive and truthful report. Renovate what needs to be renovated, and solve other problems. The next time you put up your house for sale, the next buyer will buy it at a reasonable price.
Know what the inspection entails, especially if you are targeting cash buyers for houses.
How do we know that the inspection is inaccurate?
If you’re considering selling your property quickly and without the hassle of potential oversights, you may want to explore alternatives like selling to investors who specialize in purchasing homes directly. In such cases, stating, “buy my house for cash” could attract attention from those interested in swift transactions.
Conclusion
An accurate and reliable inspection lets the seller sell the house for what it is worth. Do another inspection of the house. It saves your reputation and reduces your stress.
“Spending a little extra money to repair the damages is better than losing thousands of dollars during sales,” admonished Anthony Wardan.
If you are a buyer, an accurate inspection gives you value for your money.