Friday, October 17, 2014

How To Conduct A Home Inspection

By Patty Goff


If you were shopping for a house and you have finally found one that you really like, make sure you have it inspected. You may either choose to perform the home inspection on your own or have a home inspector come in and give it a thorough check. Before spending money on a professional, you may want to check it yourself as a way of assessing whether you will like what you will find.

Assessments should always begin by looking at what is right in front of you. This is the obvious. Examine the flooring carefully and determine whether it is in need of replacement. This is an answer that can be arrived at by checking whether it has become worn out.

A smelly flooring will also indicate that there is something wrong with it. It could be that it has absorbed too much water over the years or that it has not been well maintained. Either way, note this down and proceed to pull back the carpet so as to check for holes on the surface.

Check existing ceiling and roofing. This can easily be done as you move from room to room. Your main point of concern should be on whether there are signs of leaking. If there are signs, go outside and check the roof from a distance. This way, you should be able to notice any missing shingles.

You will therefore need to leave the house and head outside. While outside, leave some distance between you and the house. This is to make it easier to check all the way to the roof to examine whether there are shingles that are out of place.

While still at a safe distance, observe the general condition of this roof. A roof that looks really old and faded could be a sign that it will need to be replaced as soon as possible. Be sure to note down all the findings that you come across.

A professional inspector will walk around the house as he looks for some crawling space. The crawling space is used to check under the floor boards for any mold signs. Not all properties will have the crawl space as some are constructed using the slab foundation model.

When it comes to wiring, you will find that you can never really know the cost associated with a repair until you call in the professional. Therefore, if you do notice wires that are out of place, do not hesitate to make that call. This could save you some major repair expenses down the line.

A person will also have to check the air ducts. This can easily be checked by placing a paper towel in to the air duct. If mold had been noticed in the earlier inspection of the crawl space, be sure to confirm whether it has found its way in to the ducts.

Having assessed all the areas, make the decision on whether this property is worth it. If it happens to have too many major problems, move on and find another property to invest in. For minor problems, those can easily be fixed.




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