The Lawhead Team would like to share the latest One Cool Thing about home inspections and what the most common problems uncovered in them are. We would also like to note, if you are buying a brand new home a home inspection is still highly recommended! 

Very few home inspections ever come back completely clear. Here are the most common problems uncovered in home inspections.

86% of home inspections found something needed to be fixed. Here are the most common fixes:

• 19.7% needed roof repairs
• 18.7% had electrical issues
• 18.4% had issues with windows in the home
• 13.3% of homes had branches overhanging the roof
• 16.9% had issues with the rain gutters
• 13.6% had plumbing issues
• 12.6% had fencing that needed repair
• 12.2% had an issue with the water heater
• 11.9% needed repairs to driveways, sidewalks, patios or entrance landings
• 9.9% needed attention to the air conditioning

Source for home inspection article: Porch.com and REALTOR magazine

The Lawhead Team would like to share the latest One Cool Thing about calling in the experts when it comes to home purchase inspections:

When purchasing a home, one of the most important steps are the home inspections. While this will tell you a lot about the house, there are some items that a home inspector simply cannot evaluate.

• Evaluations of pools or septic systems: Inspectors are not certified to inspect everything in a home. A pool inspector or an expert on septic systems or wells may need to conduct more thorough inspections of some areas in the home.
• Hidden flaws: Inspectors check for what they can physically see without having to move anything. So, they may not be able to say whether the foundation is cracked behind the wood paneling or an electrical plug behind a sofa isn’t working.
• Termites, rats or mold: Most inspectors aren’t licensed to determine whether these types of infestations exist. Instead, they may note evidence of things such as sagging floors (termites), shredded insulation (rats), or black discoloration on the walls (fungal growth), which could indicate problems.
• Unnecessary repairs: Some inspectors are very thorough and may note every little flaw in a home, from chipped paint to window scratches. Don’t get overwhelmed if your report is several pages long. Your REALTOR can review the report with you and provide their advice on what is normal wear and tear and what you may want to request in your repairs.

Source: HouseLogic and REALTOR Magazine

With the high cost and multiple expenses of buying a home, buyers sometimes look to avoid certain out of pocket costs such as a home inspection. Unfortunately, this is an invaluable tool that should home be eliminated.

A home inspection will give you a visual analysis of all the systems in the home as well as the home’s structure. The goal of a home inspection is to see if there is anything in the home that is not performing as it should and is unsafe or beyond its useful life. An inspection will cover the interior and exterior of the home.

A home inspection is not a warranty but it gives the buyer some sort of recourse including asking the seller to make repairs or cancelling the purchase contract.

But why do I need a home inspection? The main reason is that it will buy you some piece of mind and coverage. Without a home inspection, if something goes wrong with one of the major systems in your home after closing, you have no way of recourse for the seller to fix the problem. Knowing the home has a certain issue ahead of time allows you to be more prepared and also gives you more options.

When searching for a home inspector, verify the amount of experience they have in the industry first. Inspectors with affiliations or professional memberships tend to not only be more informed but also more serious about their jobs. It is important to make sure your inspector carries professional liability insurance.

When getting a thorough home inspection, it should cover the condition of the home’s electrical system, heating system, plumbing, central air conditioning system, the roof, visible insulation, attic, walls, floors, ceilings, foundation, doors, windows, landscaping, basement and visible structure.

A professional, thorough home inspection will help you to understand any potential problems in the home and is certainly well worth the cost. An inspector that charges significantly less than others in the area may not provide you with a full report. Remember, you get what you pay for. It will be much more expensive to repair problems that were left out of an inspection report that was not thorough.

If you are buying a newly constructed home, one may wonder if a home inspection is needed.  We believe it is important to have ANY home inspected no matter how new or old it is.

Many people mistakenly believe that they don’t need a home inspection on a new house. The misconception is understandable because as consumers we have been conditioned to believe that consumer products of all types will be delivered without defects. Unfortunately this is not true, especially in the new construction market.

Quality control programs in new construction vary widely in the field and many contractors do it by the seat of their pants if at all. They usually get away with this because they have learned from experience what kind of mistakes are going to show up as a problem during the warranty period, if a home inspection is not performed. As a result there are likely to be hidden defects that will show up later in the life of the house, after the builder warranty has expired.

Homeowners often encounter these problems after the first year or two not knowing they are related to construction error if they do not initially have a home inspection performed. For instance, brick veneer is installed on about 90% of the new houses built in this area. Most people do not realize that brick is not waterproof. To compensate for this, construction standards, including the building codes, require a drainage plane behind the brick along with flashing and weep holes that will guide any water that penetrates the brick, back to the outside.

It is not uncommon nowadays to see brick veneer installed without all the required flashing.  As a result water may enter the interior wall and ceiling space and cause all kinds of problems including damage to walls, ceilings and floors and issues with mold, mildew and fungus.

Again, most homeowners don’t realize that the problems they see even 5 or 6 years after they move in are the result of code violations. If you are looking to purchase a newly constructed home, please make sure a home inspection is performed.