4ish years ago when I bought a house I was convinced not to get a house inspection, would it be crazy to get one now just to make sure it's all good?
4ish years ago when I bought a house I was convinced not to get a house inspection, would it be crazy to get one now just to make sure it's all good?
Was 25 and super nervous, so when the realtor was like "oh yeah they just check for basic stuff, but I looked around and it looks great" I was like "Oh okay, this is so astronomically expensive every penny saved is good..."
Everything has been great as far as I can tell. House was built like 40 years ago but super well maintained it seemed and I've been super happy. But just curious if maybe I should hire someone to make sure there was nothing outstanding from back then, and no major issues have popped up in the last couple years like leaks/foundation issues, the like.
Is that crazy? Is it weird to call and be like "I'm not selling, I just wanna make sure there are no issues I need to address before they get worse"
Is there a certain type of inspector I should get? I know some inspectors are notoriously lazy.
Also I moved in 2 weeks before covid lock downs happened for time line stuff.
@ericbomb Don’t get one now to make up for what you skipped back then, get one now as a checkup for what you might need to fix and for what you need to keep an eye on.
Great answer. You want to keep on that home maintenance and not let it get too bad. Reconstruction is crazy expensive.
And don’t be surprised at the prices on actual fixes not just shitty band-aids. They’re crazy expensive.
Ex. My home builder didn’t put a sump pump in our new build (and honestly, they should’ve forced us to have a few) and we didn’t know this would be an issue. In the monsoon season we got flooding, yay. A permanent fix with a lifetime warranty of 3 sumps was $25K. If we had put it in during building it would’ve been a few thousand. Peace of mind is typically gonna cost you.
If you have a basement I’d recommend they check the foundation. Have a plumber check your system (PRV, expansion tank, water heater, valves, toilets, drain lines). If it’s an older house have them check the electrical panel and wiring. They don’t last forever and can cause fires. How is the roof doing? HVAC system? Etc. Find an inspector that can do a thorough inspection because they’re are some lazy ones out there or people who just don’t know what to really look for. Ideally you contact each trade to give you an in depth diagnosis.
I'm not trying to give you shit here OP, you did what you did 4 years ago and you're thinking of doing something about it now so it's all good, but:
this is so astronomically expensive every penny saved is good…”
This is so astronomically expensive that I can't imagine caring about 300 bucks to see if anything is horrifically wrong with it. Seriously folks, get an inspection if you're buying a house! This would be like, I dunno, taking a job without talking to a single person who works there, except at least with the job you can quit without wasting thousands of dollars! The inspection could save your life!
I might have cancer but it's so expensive to actually find out. I'd rather just ride it out and wait until the damage becomes irreversible...
Get the inspection!!
That's actually my strategy.
I can only provide anecdotal experience, but my old girl found her dream house. Old mining cottage type terraced house, immaculate renovation inside, great hillside views, nice enough place overall...
...she instructed her surveyor to have a look and he told her to run like fuck, the shared wall was pretty much the only thing keeping the house upright - his words were clearly a reduction of some larger issues, but that saved a repair and insurance nightmare.
They're pricey, yes - but they can save you an exponentially larger amount of money.
Hey man I didn't say it was smart!
And it was one of those things where it's like I had X amount of money, and afterwards I was going to have not much money at all. So spending $300 more of that tiny remaining money was uncomfortable.
The costs of home maintenance are pretty crazy if you aren't prepared. The cost of an inspection is basically nothing compared to furnace, a/c, roof, windows, siding, flooring, or structural repair. Most appliances cost the same or more than an inspection as well.
Uhhhhhh. You paid for a house without getting it inspected? I'm shocked you were able to get homeowners insurance without one.
The entire point of getting an inspection done is to save yourself money. Find someone local who's thorough and have them go over the house and look for any issues, it'll be cheaper to fix them now rather than after something fails and there's major damage.
The housing market was silly for awhile. Lots of homes basically had a clause of "If inspection done, no sale"
Yeah, that's a trap. We signed a letter of intent on one place and had an inspector run through it before we committed to an offer - it's fortunate that we did too, there was serious water damage to the house that the owners were trying not to disclose.
The shit thing about the market for a couple of years is that properties were marked up by 40-50% over about 5y and many of them had next to no work done, or they got the Lowe's sale flipper special and looked terrible after.
Depends on where you live.
The bank will often send an inspector for a loan, but it's literally him just walking around and validating there is a house and it's not in shambles. He'll look at things like the roof from the outside and when it was redone, but isn't going to hop into your crawlspace to look for signs of water damage.
Then you have the "private" inspection company that you can pay to check your home for yourself. These companies are know to cost a lot of money, often detailing things they can't be sure are "risks". They'll go in the crawlspace and note all sorts of things.
On my house the expensive private inspection said "the roof here is kinda saggin and there's a bump there, it could be anything". In the same report he accidentally shows a picture from under the roof where you can see there was a repair and some extra framing, causing the small "bump" that is purely aesthetic. Didn't mention that part.
Getting someone to look at it post purchase is likely going to be much cheaper, and I'm definitely not recommending people don't get inspections when buying houses if they don't know what they're doing.
When you buy a used car through a private party, you have a mechanic check it over for two reasons:
- You want to make sure you aren't overpaying (because repairs are needed)
- You want to make sure it's safe and doesn't need immediate maintenance
It's the same for a house. The first one is moot: you already bought it and can't go back. But the second one still applies - it would be good to get it looked over.
that realtor did you dirty. "I looked around and it was fine"?? please don't use them ever again. that's sketchy and dishonest. no reputable realtor without something to hide would say that. I would report them to the state realtor board.
get the inspection. and when it's time to sell, get another one.
I mean 30 year old me recognizes that was a super weird thing to say.
25 year old me felt super over his head anyway.
But I'm getting an inspector! Don't you fret!
It's not crazy. You should get one every so often just in case. Better to find a small problem now than a big problem later.
I'm more shocked that you could buy the house without an inspection. My bank required one to give me a loan.
Lol yeah surprised inspection wasn't required.
"Realtor said it's cool" would be a red flag to most financial institutions and buyers. Like, now I'm suspicious as hell that OP got sold a lemon and just hadn't realized it yet.
We did an inspection before we bought.
They found a gas leak in the attic.
They also found that while radon mitigation equipment was installed, it was never connected to power.
The roof was 20 years old and only had a 20 year lifespan. No leaks... but... yeah.
As I understand it, about 20 years ago, my [US] state started requiring all new basement work (including additions) to have radon piping provisions, but they didn't have to be connected.
Get it inspected. It's better and cheaper to fix any issues sooner rather than later.
when I heard people were buying without inspections during the property rush I was agog and I hadn't bought a house.
I just bought a house and the inspection was very useful as a first time buyer.
Some electrics needed upgrading, the attic insulation had worn thin, there was evidence of old squirrel nests up there too, the crawlspace needed a vapor barrier, some tree branches were close to a power line... nothing major but all stuff that needed fixing.
We came to a compromise with the sellers that we'd split the cost of everything that came back in the report 50/50.
It certainly gives peace of mind to know there's no sword of damocles waiting to fall
when I heard people were buying without inspections during the property rush I was agog and I hadn't bought a house.
Reminds me of all the people buying homes to flip on their Starbucks income with variable rate mortgages back in 2006/2007
Always make the sale contingent on an inspection (and also on the sale of your current house,)
A full inspection covers all sorts of things, many of which are regulated and mandated in specific locations. Here’s a basic article on it
It’s not weird to get one if you haven’t before, and it’s a good idea. They can also point out code violations (and I’m not sure how expensive that can get… they may mandate you fix it. It may just be a reconditioned you fix it.)(and if you ever need to get a permit, the mandatory inspection that frequently happens with that is a bad time to find out.)
They can also point out code violations (and I’m not sure how expensive that can get… they may mandate you fix it
That's a reason not to get it tho...
My Mom sold without an inspection because of little things like putting a ceiling fan on a dimmer to control the speed of the fan.
Everything was done by licensed contractors, just small town bullshit where people do what they want. Especially when a house hasn't been sold for 50 years, small stuff like that adds up until a sale happens.
Could she have updated everything that was like that before the sale? Sure, but it would have been a huge hassle and in today's market she could just sell "as is" with no hit to price.
Now, as a buyer would I trust a seller I didn't know?
Fuck no.
But I grew up in that house, I know what happened.
Everything was done by licensed contractors, just small town bullshit where people do what they want. Especially when a house hasn't been sold for 50 years, small stuff like that adds up until a sale happens.
Could she have updated everything that was like that before the sale? Sure, but it would have been a huge hassle and in today's market she could just sell "as is" with no hit to price.
First off… depending on how the dimmer switch controls speed, that could be a great way to burn out a fan- most switches are for lights and adjust voltage. Fan motors expect a certain voltage and instead use amperage to adjust speed.
That’s why typical dimmer switches violate code.
It’s not something virtually any inspector is going to gig you harshly on (compared to say a severe gas leak.)
It’d also something you’re going to want to know about if you ever have to remodel or potentially sell.
As a seller, there are usually mandatory disclosure laws. Failing to disclose something that’s found after they move in- even in “as is”‘contracts can potentially lead to massive legal costs. The kind that, even if you win, you still lose.
But the OP’s perspective is as a buyer, not a seller and the games you’re talking about playing… yeah. That’s exactly why buyers should always make it contingent on inspection.
Get it inspected. And next time you buy a house, try to get the seller to pay for the inspection as part of closing. They probably will.
I bought during the height of the housing frenzy in Canada in 2021. Putting any condition on the sale meant that you wouldn't get the house. I found a few issues but took the chance anyways. As soon as the sale went through, I got an inspector in to check out everything I found. I got lucky for the most part, but there were a few things that he found that I didn't. It's better to know these things and plan for them than to be oblivious.
Get the inspection. It's not weird at all. They are all aware of the current situation.
our inspection saved us money. they found a crack in the outdoor tiling sealant that was retaining water. we spent $200 on their services, but their report helped us regotiate $5000 off our initial offer, which we had repaired for ~$500. for anybody tossing it up, it's a no-brainer.
I saved 50k on my house because some private company was hired to do an inspection and they noted a 40 page report with all sorts of shit that wasn't really important.
Nobody wanted to buy it after that. Luckily I build houses so I know what to look for and cut him a deal to get rid of it. Aside from having an electrician come in to double check all the aluminum wiring connections (and making plans to replace the aluminium wires), not one thing in those 40 pages should have affected the price of the house.
How did you buy a house at the age of 25? I can't get past this.
The simple, but annoying answer, was luck and fear.
I grew up in poverty on account of my father going to prison very young and my unprepared mom having to somehow take care of 3 kids and realizing he had made lots of money vanish and stolen lots of the money we did have that needed to be returned, and instead of inheriting money irresponsibly, I got a crippling fear of debt and spending money on non necessities.
But at the same time I was making around 70k a year at 25, because at 20 I got my associates in IT, then found a job paying above what I was asking for in under a month after graduating, and I still work at that job 10 years later as they've been very reasonable through everything. Getting that job SOO fast that worked out so well was just pure luck.
Also I couldn't buy the house I'm in anymore, buying at 25 instead of 26 was pure luck. If I had been born a year later, buying at 25 wouldn't have worked. The price of the house went up about 100k a few months later.
Also even in 2019, my home was considered a fantastic deal. A 2k square foot town home for 240k in a medium sized city (the one I grew up in), within walking distance of main street. It has an hoa, but it only has 9 other town homes in it, and we have a massive shared common area and pool. Having a pool I only have to share with a dozen other people is a luxury I never imagined. Hoa fee is 200$ and they've only ever asked me to pull weeds around my house when a neighbor was selling theirs and they wanted it to look pretty to help out a neighbor.
So I actually don't have a car (too expensive) and I can walk/bike to grocery stores, doctors appointments, the like. To top it off it's only about 3 miles from where my mom lives, and we just recently moved my grandma into a senior living center about a mile away so she's close to me and my mom.
So, yeah. I just saved every penny to a stupid level, then got rather lucky. Saving every penny at my income wouldn't have worked without the luck. Never being unemployed in my entire life was pure luck. Finding a home that met all my needs perfectly within my budget was crazy.
The cheapest home in this city are 200k 900 square feet town homes, but because of the interest rates the monthly payments are 50% higher than my beloved home.
But all that luck wouldn't have meant a thing if I hadn't saved like crazy. Sooo... yeah. For context, after much cajoling from counseling I have agreed to allow myself 100$ fun budget per month, and $400 a month for food so I buy more "nice" food. My only debts are a little bit of my college loans (I paid off all the high interest ones and the only ones left are like 3%. I had a tradition where every tax return I just put the entire thing towards the highest interest student loan) and my mortgage which is at 4.25%. I'm going to retire a millionaire and with a fully paid off home.
But it's so sad, because people taking the EXACT same actions as me, but 2 years younger, won't. They'll have to rent their entire life, or buy a home out in the middle of nowhere away from family and services. Which means they'll most likely need a car and have to pay other premiums.
Work remote from rural areas. Or just find a reasonable paying job in those areas. I see nice places in the 200k's in towns under 5000 near me.
Sure, I can see that but I cannot imagine living in such a small town. I've only lived in cities in 2 countries, and top 5 largest ones at that. To live in a small town for me just sounds miserable. At the same time, living in cities there is convince so long as you can afford it. Home ownership is almost impossible for millennials like myself and now cars are getting up there.
I was 29 when I bought mine last year, but was only able to do so because of my Veteran's benefits.
My biggest regret was not buying a house while I was still in, in the area I was stationed, because since then (2017), houses have jumped in price and I much preferred living there then my home state. But... Life is just funny like that, I suppose.
My husband said pretty much the same thing. We can only buy a house with VA assistance as well and it is so expensive here around his home town. Hopefully we can move interstate in the future. Around where he was stationed we could get a big old family house in a nice area for $100k less. For however long that lasts.
I bought my first house at 23. It takes discipline and saving.
I guess not?
It’s possible just not easy lol. My friend is doing it right now. And he got in right before the loans got insane.
Edit. For clarity. He doesn’t have parental help or anything like. I just had my dad fund me.
There's tons of the country outside the coastal regions where land is pretty cheap.
Pest inspection at the least. You want to know if you have dry rot or termites.
Indeed. My current house is great thanks to an inspection. My wiring was incredibly old, and so are my pipes. We had to replace the wiring, legally, as the house couldn't be insured, it was a fire risk, but I'd rather know that than die in a fire.
And if I didn't use a good inspector I would've ended up at a different house that looked amazing, but had incredibly expensive termite damage hidden behind insulation that the owners shoved in the foundation to cover up the damage.
We got an inspection on both ends, when we purchased (was required by the lender) and an appraisal, too. A pre-sale inspection should indicate to you if you have any lurking problems that will come up during sale if you don’t know about them and could jeopardize a deal.
There are at-least 2 good books on house-inspecting.
( looking .. dayum, there's zillions of books on it, now.. )
https://www.amazon.com/Inspecting-House-Pros-Rex-Cauldwell/dp/1561584622/
is the one I invested-in, years ago ( not to do house-inspection, just to learn the competence of it )
Please invest in that book, or an equivalent to it, and make your own inspection of the house, 1st.
Then you'll have much better understanding of the entire subject.
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