Jester
01-11-2005, 03:51 PM
7 steps to a home inspection
Buying the home had stretched the couple's finances so perilously that they had to borrow money from Loretta's mother to pay for the repairs.
"We hadn't been married that long, and you can imagine how that incident went over with the family," Bellefontaine says. "I may have known something about construction, but I did not know how to thoroughly inspect the property." Loretta puts it more succinctly: "He was a know-it-all, and we paid for it."
Fortunately, most people don't attempt their own home inspections. But even hiring a professional doesn't guarantee that a newly purchased house isn't harboring unpleasant surprises.
By and large, home inspectors are poorly regulated, and the level of performance varies widely. Only 14 states require licenses, according to the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI), a trade group based in Des Plaines, Illinois.
Among those that do, few follow the lead of New Jersey, where inspectors must pass a lengthy written test, perform as many as 400 inspections, and in some cases complete a training program at a state-approved school before being accredited.
More common is the situation in Georgia and Tennessee, where home inspectors can be certified without evidence of any prior experience. Many states have no certification requirements at all.
1. Make sure the real estate contract includes an inspection clause.
2. Get references
3. Demand a thorough job
4. Get results in writing
5. Hold the inspector liable for missed problems
6. Don't skip an inspection just because the house is new
7. Consider an inspection even if you're the seller
Read the rest of this article (http://money.cnn.com/2005/01/07/real_estate/improvement/toh_inspection/index.htm)
Buying the home had stretched the couple's finances so perilously that they had to borrow money from Loretta's mother to pay for the repairs.
"We hadn't been married that long, and you can imagine how that incident went over with the family," Bellefontaine says. "I may have known something about construction, but I did not know how to thoroughly inspect the property." Loretta puts it more succinctly: "He was a know-it-all, and we paid for it."
Fortunately, most people don't attempt their own home inspections. But even hiring a professional doesn't guarantee that a newly purchased house isn't harboring unpleasant surprises.
By and large, home inspectors are poorly regulated, and the level of performance varies widely. Only 14 states require licenses, according to the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI), a trade group based in Des Plaines, Illinois.
Among those that do, few follow the lead of New Jersey, where inspectors must pass a lengthy written test, perform as many as 400 inspections, and in some cases complete a training program at a state-approved school before being accredited.
More common is the situation in Georgia and Tennessee, where home inspectors can be certified without evidence of any prior experience. Many states have no certification requirements at all.
1. Make sure the real estate contract includes an inspection clause.
2. Get references
3. Demand a thorough job
4. Get results in writing
5. Hold the inspector liable for missed problems
6. Don't skip an inspection just because the house is new
7. Consider an inspection even if you're the seller
Read the rest of this article (http://money.cnn.com/2005/01/07/real_estate/improvement/toh_inspection/index.htm)