Man Checking List for Home Inspection

Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Do a Home Inspection by Yourself

Whether you’re buying or selling a home, you’re going to need a home inspection if financing is part of the purchase equation. A home inspection guarantees that there are no hidden catastrophic flaws with a property that’s being transferred, and if issues are discovered during the inspection they are disclosed to both parties. A home inspection in Philadelphia is your first layer of protection when purchasing a house because it shines the light of knowledge on what could be difficult to spot yet costly problems.

Accurate home inspections are conducted by people who have been trained in the major systems of a house and how those systems interact with one another. A home inspector knows the telltale signs of underlying issues that could become big problems for the purchaser and can also check existing systems to make sure they comply with state and local codes and regulations. Despite the training and knowledge needed to conduct a thorough home inspection, some people attempt to conduct inspections on their own. Keep reading to learn a few of the many reasons that it’s a bad idea to go it alone on your next home inspection.

You Don’t Have the Knowledge or Experience

Again, conducting a thorough, accurate home inspection involves high-level training and years of experience in residential inspection, construction, trade work, or a combination of the three. The average home buyer doesn’t meet those criteria and can, at best only spot the most obvious issues. Maintaining up-to-date knowledge of codes and regulations represents a great deal of research, and quite frankly, that’s not something the average home buyer does with his or her spare time. Therefore, leave the inspection to those who have the skills to do it the right way, as an accurate inspection is your best protection against future home purchase mistakes.

You Don’t Have the Tools

It takes more than a flashlight and a tape measurer to conduct a thorough home inspection. In fact, just as there is special knowledge needed to properly assess the condition of a property, there’s also special equipment needed that the average home buyer may not have. Devices such as moisture meters to determine plumbing leaks or infrared cameras to highlight weaknesses in insulation probably are probably only possessed by those who have a professional reason to invest in them. Without these tools, it’s easy to overlook potential problems since many significant issues like plumbing leaks can be totally hidden from sight.

Mistakes and Oversights Are Costly

While there is a fee associated with hiring a professional inspector, that fee is dramatically less than the cost of purchasing a home with substantial undiagnosed problems that must be remedied. For example, a plumbing leak in the slab that is undetected at the time of purchase could be costly to repair, and the secondary damage could drive the remediation costs into the thousands. An outdated, dangerous electrical issue could result in a need for total house rewiring, or even worse, it could result in an electrical fire. Even if you stumble upon evidence of a problem with the house, you may not understand the full extent of it or the cost of remediating it. Instead of attempting to save money in the short-term by skipping a professional inspection, the wiser approach is to let a professional perform the inspection so that you get guaranteed results.

If you have a need for new home building inspections in Philadelphia, PA, there’s nothing to be gained by attempting to do it yourself. The better choice is to hire a professional home inspector who can thoroughly assess and report on the condition of the property, which can save you money, time, and headaches in the future. To learn more reasons that you should avoid do-it-yourself home inspections, contact Eagle Inspections at (267) 538-2292.