Home Inspection, Top-to-Bottom Peace of Mind

The average homeowner spends 15 minutes or less making a decision to buy a house.  A qualified home inspector may take  several hours to inspect a house, top-to-bottom, looking for potential problems that could cost the home owner tens of thousands of dollars down the road. Skipping a home inspection could be the biggest financial mistake you ever make and cause plenty of heartache.

Neil Weese, Sales Manager for Century 21 M&M Merced, Los Banos and Livingston says, “I strongly recommend to my clients that they hire a home inspector. The expense is minimal, usually a couple hundred dollars, and a home inspection offers the owner peace of mind knowing that the home is safe.”

“It is important to hire a home inspector that is not only certified, but also one that understands the history of residential construction. For example, say a home was built in the 1950’s, it may still have the original electrical service, wired to Code in the 1950’s. The electrical panels installed during that time period were non-grounded and usually 60 -100Amps. Are they safe? Yes…as long as the panel isn’t overloaded and the breakers aren’t arcing, then the panel is considered safe. However, if it was my home I would pay a couple hundred dollars to have the panel grounded,” said Weese.

With a checklist, a home inspector will examine every aspect of your house, top-to-bottom. Then they will inform you with a written report (and photos), of problems, suggested repairs or maintenance issues.

A home inspection, even with a checklist, is only as good as the inspector. In order to avoid problems due to an inadequate inspection,  contact one of Century 21 M&M Recommended Venders, get referrals and/or contact The American Society of Home Inspectors, Inc. (ASHI).

So that you will know what the home inspector is looking for, take a look at this Home Inspection Checklist.