For the majority of people, a home purchase is the most significant financial obligation they will take on in their lifetime. It is smart that home buyers protect their financial commitment by requiring a a home inspection. When purchasing a new property, home inspection is essential. During the inspection, an inspector will tour the home thoroughly in order to assess its physical condition. One important aspect to remember about home inspections and buying a home is that it is crucial to make your offer on a property conditional on the results of the home inspection. This means that if the inspection reveals some major problems with the home, you can withdraw your offer without penalty.

The Inspection Procedure: What to Expect

While conducting a home inspection, the inspector will take a comprehensive and detailed look at the property to assess its physical condition-but understand that this is very distinct from an appraisal. The home inspector will be able to explain all about what kind of condition the property is in, but will not give you with an estimate of its worth.

During the inspection process, the inspector will examine everything in the home and assess the condition of its structure, construction, plumbing, electrical systems and other features of the home, to discover whether any structures or systems require repair or even replacement. The inspector will determine as well the longevity of the home, including structural features and plumbing, electrical and other systems, and determine how much functional life each feature has remaining. A home inspection will typically take at least two hours, but of course this is contingent on the size of the property. In general, you might anticipate an inspection to take about an hour for every thousand square feet of property. Once the inspection is finished, you should receive a written report of the inspector's findings within seven days.

Essential Questions to Ask a Home Inspector

Before you engage a home inspector, it is wise to ask key questions to make sure you are hiring an inspector you can trust to carry out a thorough inspection of your prospective property.

*What does the inspection include?

*How long have you been an inspector, and how many inspections have you done?

*Are you a veteran residential inspector?

*Do you belong to any state or national associations?

*How long will the inspection take to perform?

*What do you charge?

*How quickly will the inspection report be available after the inspection is finished?

*Will I be allowed to attend the inspection?

These are all significant questions to aid in ensuring that your inspector has the experience required to thoroughly investigate the property which may become your home. Be sure to ask if you may attend the inspection-a negative response from the home inspector is certainly a warning sign, and attending the inspection is a great chance to learn about your prospective new home, first-hand.

Source: www.articlesfactory.com

I certainly understand a seller's initial push-back on ponying up for an inspection on the house they are trying to move, especially when they have often just finished paying for an inspection on the new house they are purchasing. The thought being, why would I pay somebody to come in and rip my house apart? A buyer's going to pay an inspector to do that, just like I did.?

Here's the typical scenario: You decide to sell your house, you find a real estate agent you are comfortable with, (hopefully, a full time agent), you list your house, you spend a couple of weeks going out to dinner every time a potential buyer wants to take a look-see, at long last, a buyer submits an offer and quite often, you end up haggling over the price. Finally, you come to an agreement, fill out mountains of paperwork, and are done, right?? Wrong! In marches the buyer's inspector, and now there is a laundry list of items that were not listed on the disclosure sheet that said buyer wants repaired or replaced.

Here's the deal. You, as a seller, are not paying for an inspection for a potential buyer; you are paying for an inspection to protect you! This inspection, along with an honest disclosure sheet, will take everything found and listed off the negotiating table. When a potential buyer makes an offer on your property, they do so knowing full well what they are buying. Got a bad roof? They (and you) already know about and they placed the offer with the understanding that the roof needs to be replaced.

But that's an easy one! How about this: Buyer's inspector calls out the lack of GFCI?s (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters-the outlets with the TEST-RESET buttons). Buyer wants them installed. Maybe buyer's Uncle Henry used to be an electrician and insists that they be installed. (This stuff happens every day) Are you, as a seller, going to tear up the contract over $300?? Maybe, but probably not, especially if you are eager to move forward. Therefore, you are either forking over dough for an electrician to install GFCIs or cutting the check. And that's just one item! One, of many, that can come up during a home inspection.

Lastly, be wary of wanting to bring in an inspector who will 'be nice to your house' on a pre-listing inspection. I assure you, there are few things in life that will annoy you more than paying upfront for an inspector to find these issues, only to be blindsided during a buyer's inspection by their home inspector's findings. In that case, you have wasted your money.

In conclusion: Pre-listing inspection. What it is: a very effective sales tool. What it is not: a set of pom-poms for your house.

Author, Tom Sherman, is President of Absolute Home Inspection, Inc. For more information on home inspections, contact Tom at 315-673-1755 or visit Absolute Home Inspection

By B. Allen

A home inspection is a visual assessment of the structure and components of a home, so a clear view of those areas is crucial for a good home inspection. Unfortunately, for various reasons, they are not always easily viewed, which can be frustrating to a home inspector trying to perform a thorough inspection. The average home also has many potential issues that can be a challenge for even the most experienced home inspector. Furniture, household items, boxes, attics, roofs, crawlspaces and barking dogs are just a few of the challenges home inspectors may come across when completing their inspection.

Furniture, household items and moving boxes are common obstacles around which a home inspector may have to maneuver in order to complete an inspection. Of course, since some of those objects can be quite heavy and difficult to move, the home inspector cannot be held responsible for moving them during an inspection. Thus, it is important for home owners to move any obstacle in preparation for a home inspection, because any area that is not readily visible is not available for inspection. Although major components of the home should not be blocked, it is not necessary for a home to be completely empty to obtain a good home inspection. Electrical outlets are one of the most commonly blocked areas that require inspection, so it is advisable to at least move furniture away from walls that need to be inspected.

Dogs make great pets for home owners, but they are typically territorial and sometimes aggressive. Many dogs are friendly with strangers, while others are not, and home inspectors should not have to worry about which sort will be at the door. If the dog follows the home inspector or is continuously barking, this can be a major distraction and could slow down the inspection. In some cases, a home inspection can be postponed because of a troublesome pet. Fortunately, this is another home inspection challenge that is easy for the home owner to prevent by removing the dog from the home during the inspection or locking it up in one area.

Home inspectors will also face certain unpreventable challenges that are simply part of the job. Attics, roofs and crawlspaces are often the most challenging and dangerous areas to inspect, so home inspectors are especially careful to take their time and make good judgments when approaching these components. Sometimes access to these areas will be limited due to the way the home was built, and other times access may be available but deemed unsafe by the home inspector. Although these issues are expected by a home inspector, they still can offer quite the challenge to them.

Whether it is maneuvering around furniture, ignoring a home owner's dog, navigating through attics, scaling roofs or sliding through crawlspaces, home inspectors face a number of challenges during a given home inspection. Home owners should try to make the process as easy as possible by moving furniture out of the way and removing pets for the inspection, but home inspectors will need to tackle most of those challenges head-on during their inspections.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleBlast.com

About the author - To get started with Palm-Tech Home Inspection Software visit Palm-Tech.com for a free demo. Palm-Tech Home Inspection Software is the perfect software for any home inspector looking for something Fast, Flexible, and Easy!