Buying house....home inspection question

Cherokeekid88

Cherokeekid88

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2007
Location
High Point, NC
Just bought a house and its time to do the home inspection. I have a guy who is a friend of one of my good friends who is doing the inspection. He is a licensed and bonded contractor and owns his own construction company. He is willing to basically come out and do the home inspection for practically nothing. Is there a specific form that has to be filled out when doing the inspection? or can I print one that I have found that basically goes over everything?

I haven't talked to him about that part yet, but wanted to be prepared.
 
?? what? You already bought the house and NOW you're doing eh inspection?

that is supposed to be done before you buy it so you know what to tell the sellers to fix.
 
Blaze said:
Maybe it is just me, but I'd rather pay the $250 and have a guy who does it for a living do it for me.
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no shit. The $250 is really cheap compared to what they could save you in the long run. Find somebody that has been doing this a long time and is well known for being a complete anal asshole.

Imagine the guy that is the worst-case scenario for doing an annual inspection on your car.
thats the kind of guy you want.
 
RatLabGuy said:
?? what? You already bought the house and NOW you're doing eh inspection?

that is supposed to be done before you buy it so you know what to tell the sellers to fix.
Click to expand...

Probably meant he just went under contract.

Hopefully.
 
Yeah I just went under contract on Friday. The guy has done them before and is a really honest guy, he just doesn't do them all the time. I haven't talked to him about if he has all the forms and stuff to do it. I was just wondering if there is a specific form that has to be filled out or can it be one that he can get from somewhere else and just put all his info on it?
 
There are no forms. He will have a template that he has bought or made. I would hire a real company that you can sue, if need be. Hopefully it is straight forward, but if he misses something major (foundation, mold, etc), you should have some recourse.
 
It all depends on what YOU want out of the inspection. If you want to have something on paper to have the sellers fix before closing, I would go with a company that does solely home inspections. If you just want somebody to look over the house and make punch list type items, I would get your buddy.

The house that I am closing on this week had an inspection. I had already crawled all over the house and knew there were no structural or major issues. The inspector cut me a deal because all I wanted was a second opinion on some minor things. No paperwork or official report. He still went over everything on his checklist, but I made the notes on what needed to be done.

Some people dont know what to look for or dont want to crawl under a house. I worked residential construction for about 10 years and alot of that was spent under houses. I dont mind getting dirty. Saved me $100.
 
this guy will not cut corners. very reputable and has done work for plenty of people and they have nothing but great things to say about him. He told me, if I check something and you move in and something goes wrong with it....I am responsible. The roof on ths house is 2 years old, new vinyl siding, A/C unit is 5 years old, garage door opener is 1 year old, new paint, new floors, visably, the house looks incredible.
He told me he would check anything and everything i wanted him to check.
 
Turns out the guy is not licensed......he siad that he could do the inspection but if he finds anything wrong with it, we cannot get the sellers to fix it because of that....so not sure...guess Im just going to have to fork out the money......anyone know a decently priced inspection company in the triad?
 
The average around my area is $325. So I found a place that will do it (whom my realtor said she had heard of some of the other realtors that she knows recommends) for $300 and that includes termite inspection, and if I schedule the app online, I get a $50 discount....
 
Just got my home inspection done last week and it cost me 300, plus termite inspection for 75......so that sounds like a pretty good deal if you can get it for that. The guy that did my home inspection took like 3hrs which I was impressed(had heard they were only bout an hour) and he was very very thorough in everything I needed to address. Definitely spend the money for a good home inspection no doubt
 
If you have ever watched the show, "Holmes on Homes", you will see some inspectors, do a lousy job! Best I can tell you, is, Be with the inspector, observe, ask questions, & HE, should be taking pictures,of any problems! I Really doubt, they can be held liable, for missing something; or would be worth the $ & hassle to sue!
If my original inspector had not photographed the water leaks, around the chimney, I wouldn't have gotten a new roof!
 
They CAN be held liable for screwing up, which is why a lisenced inspector will have E&O insurance. I took the class a while back but never got into it. The market crashed soon thereafter.

If you can afford the time, go when the inspection is taking place. I don't know any inspectors in your area, but your realtor should have a good contact, if they are a good realtor. If the realtor sucks, take some time to research them, and don't go by cost.
 
An inspector is going to miss something, that's a given. There is just too much to look at and opinions vary from person to person.

The only way he is liable is if he completely ignored a critical issue and as Rodney said above, if there was reasonable evidence of issues that was overlooked or ignored. Beyond that, most items not seen aren't worth any hassle. So, be sure you are there with them if you can so you can see how through he is and can ask questions if you feel there is something "questionable"
 
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