Home Inspection Basics

the home inspector

When you think about it, it’s a bit strange. A person hires a stranger to snoop around another stranger’s house for a couple of hours and report back. Sounds like someone hired a burglar to investigate a house for a burglary. The main difference is that the owner of the house is also a willing participant, and that everything is quite legal and honest. The buyer’s motive is, of course, to make sure they don’t get “robbed” with a broken oven that the seller says is fine, for example. This happened to me in the days before a home inspection was a common part of the real estate transaction. Although the service has been around since the 1970s, it has only become an integral part of home buying in the mid to late 1990s.

My wife and I ended up with an oven that was soon condemned by a technician and a huge bill for a new one. It was mid-November and we couldn’t exactly live without one. What did we know about the ovens? We didn’t know how long one lasted or how to tell if it was in good shape or not. That was a dozen years ago. Now we know a lot better about ovens: nothing like getting burned so you’ll be more careful next time.

Home inspectors are, like me, normal people who are interested in houses, their construction, their systems, and just about everything else about them. They are usually generalists with knowledge of thousands of bits of information about just about anything in the home. Some have additional specialties in various trades or will offer additional services at additional costs for things like radon inspections. Many, like me, are trained and certified through universities or corporations like Carson-Dunlop Consulting Engineers in Toronto.

We are also interested in the people who live there and the people who are looking to move. Like you, we have spouses, children, parents, pets, and other relatives with whom we share our living spaces. What we all have in common is that we all want a nice, clean and safe place to live, hopefully with no nasty surprises. We want to help you realize what you have before you buy or sell, so you can make informed decisions.

No house is perfect. That’s not to say that something is wrong, but think of a house as an organic entity. It sits on a base. It is in your frame. It breathes and has circulatory systems. It needs to be kept at a comfortable and even temperature. And, above all, it needs maintenance. Just like your own body, or even your car, if you don’t take care of it, it will start to age prematurely and fall apart.

But what are home inspectors and why do you need one?

Think of a home inspector checking your house like the mechanic having to check your car. Houses need to be maintained and cared for. However, just like cars, sometimes we don’t take as much care of them as we should. Some things don’t get fixed, while other things don’t even get noticed or checked over the years and deteriorate. Home inspectors act as independent third parties who advise on the condition and condition of the home without the emotional investment. Good home inspectors provide the straight facts, will point out things to watch or fix, and will also point out the positive aspects of your home.

As the name suggests, home inspectors inspect homes, but they also often inspect garages, patios, decks, driveways, and land lay. Some will inspect other structures such as sheds, barns, gazebos, swimming pools, and pool houses, but these are beyond the standards for most inspectors. Many will adhere to the standards and practices of the Canadian Association of Home and Property Inspectors (CAHPI or CAHI) or the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI), whether or not they are actual members of the association.

Home inspection is the fastest growing trade within the real estate industry in North America, with around two-thirds to three-quarters of all homes undergoing an inspection. Home inspectors have become an integral part of the home transaction process. While most home inspectors are called once a buyer is ready to buy a home, some are called by sellers before they want to sell, or by homeowners looking for major home renovations or improvements.

What do they do?

In either situation, the inspection process is basically the same. After initial introductions and a discussion of what to do, where to go, where not to go (the baby’s room), and other criteria, the inspector gets down to “dirty” work. The inspector will thoroughly check the home and property, usually starting outside and then moving inside from room to room, making observations and notes on a checklist. It is common for inspectors to enter rooms two or three times to see different things each time. Others will visit certain rooms only once, performing all the checks they need right there. Every inspector is different and works differently.

Safety is the primary concern of the home inspector, both for the inspector and the client. Some home inspectors will open electrical panels to look at wiring, others won’t, but everyone should inspect panels, wiring, distribution system, grounding, load, and other visible bits and pieces.

Most inspectors will look inside furnaces and other heating devices if the panels come off easily. Others will use panel removal tools, but many will mark the line there. Many inspectors will walk on the roof when conditions permit to inspect the roof, materials and workmanship, and items such as vents, chimneys, and gutters. Some roofs are very steep, in disrepair, or made of flimsy shingles. Most inspectors will not walk on the roof in these situations, but will look over the edge via a ladder, look from an adjacent structure, or use binoculars while on the ground.

Plumbing is another important system that home inspectors will spend a lot of time examining. They’ll see what the pipes are made of, whether or not they’re electrically grounded, what the water looks, flows, and even smells like, how hot the water gets, and they’ll also operate every faucet and toilet to make sure they’re all working. good and no leaks. Home inspectors will also look for other leaks, past and present, evidence of water damage, and look at drainage systems and sump pumps.

The structure is another key point of inspection. Inspectors will see how the house literally stands up, and how it has settled and weathered over the years. Inspectors will look for cracks in the wall and floor due to settlement and try to determine the age and severity of the crack. Home inspectors will also examine brickwork, windows, doors, joists, rafters, pads, and other items for warping, fire or water damage, poor construction, unsafe alteration or remodeling, and other telltale signs of how the house was built and maintained

Home inspectors often crawl through tight spaces, look inside or enter attics, look in closets and fireplaces, around windows and doors, under rugs, and anywhere else in the home where they see or they suspect evidence that something may be wrong, or may be particularly good.

Typical unseen items are more cosmetic in nature. Paint is not a major concern unless it shows other issues like mold, weathering, etc. Carpets are generally not discussed unless they are moldy or on top of electrical wiring. Landscaping will be analyzed with respect to the effect on the house. Trees and shrubs are often planted too close to a home or grow up against it over time and can cause damage. Most landscaping issues are related to the slope or grade of the land and whether drainage issues are a concern.

What do you get out of it? Good home inspectors will write a report and give you an oral summary of what they found. The home inspector can show you certain issues of particular interest or concern, or you can simply get a summary of the items observed and noted on the report. The home inspector should not make decisions for you about the home, but may, if qualified, make certain professional recommendations or recommend that you have more serious matters inspected by a specifically trained service person.

Inspectors should give you a check on the vitals of your home, not a laundry list of what’s wrong with the place. There are many small things that can be “wrong”, such as needing minor attention or supervision, but are not critical to the overall safety or marketability of the home. The worst thing a home inspector can do is get excited about the home being inspected. Good home inspectors are like good doctors or mechanics. They tell you what they find and how critical a deficiency may or may not be, but they shouldn’t be alarming unless the situation is life-threatening or life-threatening (for example, exposed live wires within children’s reach or a seriously deteriorated fireplace that could to collapse). Otherwise, the inspector must be impartial and serious when presenting his findings.

The seller has the emotional investment of living in a house and is usually quite sensitive about it. The buyer is putting an emotional investment in the house because he likes the place and can imagine himself enjoying it. That’s where emotional biases come into play, and sober reasoning can get the better of you by making you blind to potential problems or excuse them because you really want this house. This is exactly why home inspectors have come on the scene to weed out emotion and provide sobering feedback. Home inspectors don’t get involved with home pricing, and they certainly don’t decide whether or not to buy (or sell) for you. What they reveal about a home can affect negotiations, but the home inspector should not be directly involved in them. For example, depending on the size of a home, replacing a nearly dead furnace can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000, or a new roof of badly worn shingles can cost anywhere from $3,000 to $30,000, a not insignificant impact on home value over time. a transaction.