Do it Yourself Inspection?

Question

What would be the basic fundamentals of Inspecting a house during the closing process of purchasing a property.

Before we even offered on the property my partner and I walked the house with our agent and looked it over well.

We didn't see much of anything wrong besides maby painting cabinets, new door, and some flooring.

Now that we are closing on the house we are taking it upon ourselves to inspect it deeper.

So I'm asking if we hired an inspector what would he do?

Also asking for in depth advice about what we should do while we do this.

My partner has a strong construction background and probably has a better idea of what to do. For the sake of me I would like some guidance so I may go in confident about it!

Thanks so much!

Andrew Clifton

Max T. · Answer

If you are looking at cosmetics you are going to miss the big stuff. A real home inspector doesn't even comment on things like cabinets need painting.

Electrical wiring - knob and tube? grounded outlets?

Plumbing - galvanized? lead?

Structure - cracked/broken beams? improper sistering? house settling?

Mechanical - heat source? age? proper installation? functioning? air conditioning?

Roof condition and age

There are a lot of things that could come up in an inspection report. Well worth the $500.

Mike Cumbie · Answer

Hi @Andrew Clifton,

I will caution you to check your contract first. I know in our area (unless specified earlier in the contract) it is a licensed home inspector. While it may not sound like a big deal at this point say you find a big item like broken beam in the attic. You go to the seller and say "There is a broken beam in the attic I want them fixed or out of the contract". They can say "show me the report from a licensed home inspector saying there are beams that require fixing".

If you don't have it, your contingency for licensed home inspector means just that. So you say "Ok I want back in the house where I will bring one" and they say "Nope, We let you in once to perform an inspection per our contract".

When your 7 days are up either you continue to perform or they want the EMD.

Each area is different of course just make sure you know your contract, it is more than the knowledge.

Good Luck!

Mindy Jensen · Answer

@Andrew Clifton , When a seller is super motivated, it makes me wonder "What's wrong with the house?"

Every seller is required by law to disclose known defects in the home, such as mold or cracked foundations. That doesn't mean they DO disclose. Ever seen someone speeding on the highway? Every driver is required by law to obey the speed limit, but the speed limit is broken all the time.

I wrote up a 48 point DIY checklist for the purpose of visual inspections BEFORE you hire an inspector. This is in no way supposed to take the place of a licensed inspector - they will find things that you won't even think to look for.

Unless you're taking the house all the way to the studs, or you've rehabbed 100 homes, you should get an inspection and use a licensed home inspector to do it.

Brian Lacey · Answer

Hire an inspector. Save both of your time.

Let the inspector be the bad guy when he creates a 2 inch book with what is wrong with the house.

You grab that 2 inch thick book, hold it up so the seller sees how thick it is.

You tell the seller, "(Name), I'm your new best friend. I'm going to buy your house even though I have all of this (point to book) to fix. Knowing that (name), I'm still going to buy your house. It's just not going to be at (agreed upon price)."

Seller prices in repairs.

You're the good guy. Inspector is the bad guy. You saved the day by buying a problem. Inspector is the villain for robbing seller of thousands of dollars.

Jackson Carr · Answer

@Andrew Clifton Your searching should get done in a 7 day inspection period.  Not prior to offer.

@Max Tanenbaum gave you some great advise.  Cosmetics are part of the deal to calculate out. That is the softer part. No hard numbers needed. No going back for credit.

I always get a roof inspection and a pest control.  I do the house inspection myself, but I am in the maintenance and facilities field. I know the local and state code, differences in wiring, grounding, plumbing, flooring, HVAC, etc. You don't catch a soft spot in the floor or a leaking tub...... You can easily shell out 6-10k on repairs.  Missed dry rot on a roof? Long term leaking roof dripping into attic and ceiling? Looks good now but will cost you 20k next year. How closely did you look at any window in the house? Was there dry rot, wet rot, cracking, Covered up cracking, out of square, do the windows open and close properly when its cold and raining?

I know you are excited about the deal, but i would rather lose my earnest money than eat a giant repair down the road for not doing my due diligence.

Goodluck,

Jack

P.s. Not being negative but Mindset and heart wont get you out of a lawsuit or roof replacement.  There should be no feelings involved with due diligence. This is business that will eat you up and spit you out if you mess around.

Joshua D. · Answer

@Andrew Clifton

We have bought 9 houses do far and have been under contract for 15+.  So not many compared to some players in this field, but i will give you my thoughts so far.

1. We used a property inspector on our 1st property because we did not know what we were doing

2. After we rehabbed our first house hack completely, I felt way more confident to do my own inspections.

3. We Now use a 7 page form to make sure that we do not miss anything during inspection period. It is easy to forget 1 item if you don't have a list in front of you.

We have never had any issues getting EM back if the deal will not meet our goals.

Good luck out there!

Michael Totman · Answer

In addition to what @Mike Cumbie said, it's going to depend on your level of knowledge and what risk you want to take. How much do you know about local building codes and spotting work not done to code? Does that just look like dirt on the basement wall or is it mold? If it's mold, it's it just that spot or can you find the cause of the moisture feeding the mold?

I've found that my contractor is often better than whatever home inspector I can find, but that's not always true. It's up to you and your knowledge/comfort that there aren't any serious structural issues.  What you mention above is all cosmetic, nothing to do with the large expenses that blow up flips and rentals once the reno starts...

Usually I'll have my contractor as well as an HVAC guy, electrician, and plumber look at the house with me at the same time.

Mike Dymski · Answer

I've never paid for an SFR inspection...they pay for themselves plus some.  Maybe not on every deal, but on most deals and certainly over the long haul they do.  I use a good inspector and they are a profit center for me.  Pictures speak a thousand words.  Reported items put the seller in an ethical hot spot should they choose to move on and not disclose the item(s) going forward.  Many sellers are more uncomfortable and less able to deal with "water damage" "structural problem" "roof leak" etc. than we as investors are and this adds motivation to sell (as it should).  Even many "as is" property sellers are typically open to addressing serious mechanical/structural items found.  IMO, a good property inspector is one of the most cost effective risk mitigating factors in all of REI...it's a no-brainer for me.

Andrew Clifton · Answer

Amazing! thanks for all the feed back I really do appreciate all of you!Since we are already below asking price and seller is motivated already to sell, I made sure to make it as easy as possible on the seller to get it closed (10 business days) . We put $500 EMD in contract and set it up to $500 in repairs so we would both break even if something small came up. We didn't go into contract saying that "oh hey this needs painted and ect". We didn't nick pick it is what I'm trying to say.  I also have a lot of legal forms including a Buyers Inspection Report and contracts from my Real Estate Attorney. That are great help! So Thank God I am not going in completely blind.

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