INSPECTIONS ARE A MUST
Buyer can avoid hidden costs
These days, a lot of people are opting out of getting a home inspection before buying a house, mostly because they’re afraid of losing it to another bidder — it’s a seller’s market in some cities. But what you should really be afraid of is buying a house that you paid $30,000 above the asking price and then it needing another $50,000 in repairs you didn’t even know about.
Buying a house without getting it inspected first is buying blindfolded; you literally have no idea what you’re buying. I hear a lot of horror stories from my home inspectors. I’ve seen more than my share of home inspection nightmares myself — even did a show about it — but some stories wouldn’t let you sleep at night either.
What’s the risk in not getting a home inspection? Let me tell you about one case: A homebuyer buys a house without getting it inspected first. After moving in, she decides to get it inspected to know if there are any issues. By the end of the inspection, she was in tears.
Among other things, the home inspector finds a buried oil tank. Now it’s the homeowner’s responsibility to get it removed, which can cost anywhere between $2,000 and $3,000. If the tank hasn’t leaked, then the situation isn’t so bad. But if it has leaked, we are now talking about a very, very expensive remediation process that can involve numerous pros — including engineers, consultants, contractors and sub-contractors — and removing all contaminated soil and infilling with new. It can easily cost tens of thousands of dollars — in some cases hundreds of thousands. One case ended up costing close to $350,000.
And who’s on the hook for it? The homeowner.
Buried oil tanks are just one surprise you don’t want to find when it comes to your new home, but there are plenty others, such as asbestos, radon, mould, termites or carpenter ants, a compromised foundation or knob and tube wiring.
Or what about a leak? I know of some homeowners where the day they move in they get a big rainstorm and the water just pours in. Now we’re talking about getting the roof fixed, removing all damaged materials and replacing it with new — from the framing and insulation to drywall, flooring, electrical and finishes — and not to mention getting rid of any mould. It’s a can of worms, and if it’s an older home, who knows for how long this has been going on.
A trained professional home inspector would be able to spot the signs of a leak, or of someone’s patch job trying to cover it all up. Of course, some red flags are easier to spot than others — such as knob and tube wiring — but a trained eye can definitely help.
A good home inspector can find potential problems, give you an idea of what it can take to fix, and then tell you which ones need to be addressed now and which ones can wait.
That is crucial information you should know before making an offer, because you’ll want to know if the house is worth your investment, and how much. There could be a good chance the house has asbestos, a termite or pest problem, knob and tube wiring, a buried oil tank, a water leak, or if it needs new footings or the foundation needs to be underpinned. If any of the above are discovered during a home inspection, these can be expensive fixes.
And just like contactors, make sure you hire a qualified pro. The good news is some provinces require home inspectors to be licensed, and others are moving in that direction.
Look for someone who has plenty of experience. Ideally, you’ll also want a Level 1 Certified Thermographer. They will be able to look for potential problems hiding behind walls, such as a leak —and therefore mould — or abnormal heat coming from faulty wiring, which is a fire hazard.
A qualified home inspection can give you an idea of what a home is really worth, and what it will cost to make safe. Losing out on a house because you opted to get a home inspection is better than getting a house with big, big problems that will take a fortune to fix. Sometimes not making a bad investment is the smartest investment you can make.