Home Inspection

On Sunday, we had the home inspection for the house we are buying.  

If you are ever in doubt if it is worth the money on a home inspection, I would highly recommend it.  If everything checks out okay, you have just bought peace of mind and reassurance that probably, what is one of your biggest investments ever, is sound.  

I think a lot of home buyers can relate to the movie, The Money Pit, with Tom Hanks and Shelly Long, where they buy a house for a good deal, and as soon as they move in, everything and everything starts breaking, leaving them bankrupt.  If nothing else, you will know that you are not buying a money pit.

A few years ago after an inspection on a house we were buying, we realized that the pipes under the house were not up to code with the city- they were clay pipes and due to some city regulations, as soon as the house was sold, the new owners of the house (meaning us) would have to replace them.  The rough estimate- $50,000!  Needless to say, the money for the inspection, paid for itself! 

It was disappointing to realize we weren’t going to be able to buy the house, but in the long run we knew we did not want to undertake such an expensive problem!  Even though we spent a few hundred dollars for the inspection, we were made aware of the potential of having to spend $50,000!

So it was with cautious optimism, Joe and I felt on Sunday, as we had the inspection.  We felt we knew what the issues were in the house, but having had that $50,000 issue come up, before- you just never know for sure.

Thankfully, Ryan and Cole’s grandparents were able to watch them for us, so we could focus on the inspection with the inspector.  He was really thorough, and took three hours, to check every last detail of the house for us- from the top of the roof, to the last corner in the basement, and everything in between!

He mentioned the few minor issues we knew of, and caught a few more minor things that would need to be taken care of, but overall he said the house was a very well constructed house, with no $50,000 “surprises.” 

A little added bonus was the owner was there, doing some chores.  He was very nice, and hospitable, and was able to fill us in on a few things, and even pointed out that the back yard has some very nice, and healthy fruit trees!

Needless to say, we were very happy and pleased.  Our next step is to close on the loan, and in the meantime, get an appraisal.  We are trying to contain our excitement until we sign on the dotted line, but looks like this is really happening, and we just cleared another hurdle.  We are getting closer!

P.S. In case you were wondering, the picture at the top of the post,  is not a picture of the house-it is just a stock photo. 🙂