Some home sellers and buyers decide to skip the home inspection process for various reasons. Why is it unwise to skip it?

A home inspection is important because it’s like a doctor’s check-up– it’ll tell you if the house has any safety issues that need attention. Stuff like carbon monoxide, radon and mold is stuff that could hurt or kill people. The average person isn’t going to know how to detect/measure the kind of stuff that’s seemingly invisible in and around a house. These things could be hazardous to people’s health and that’s why it’s a good idea to have an inspector figure out if everything’s as it should be or if something’s amiss.

Inspectors also do a good job figuring out if there are any illegal additions or installations in a home. Is everything “up to code” or not? Are appliances and systems installed correctly? How are the plumbing lines? Does the electrical work look shoddy and amateur? An inspection not only finds the “bad” stuff out about a house, but also the “good” stuff, too.

Inspections give a buyer a good idea of what needs to be repaired or replaced. Of course, there’s a monetary price attached to these things, which will matter in negotiations between a buyer and a seller. Is the condition of the home, in its current condition, good enough or not? If it needs lots of work, perhaps the buyer can ask the seller to have the work done before they’ll assume ownership or the buyer can ask for a price reduction, since he or she might have to assume the cost of getting problems fixed in the coming months.

Finally, it’s a good idea to have the home inspected because not only is it like a check-up with a doctor but it’s also like a report card from a teacher at school. Home inspectors can note the approximate age of the major systems in a home, such as plumbing, heating and cooling, and water heaters. This age assessment ultimately helps people know which things will need to be replaced sooner or later.

Need your home inspected? Contact Cornerstone Home Inspections of Warren, NJ, at 1-800-648-6187 or email cornerstonespec@aol.com.