STEP 6 – HOME INSPECTION

Now that you have your interest rate locked in and you are gathering up the necessary documentation needed for closing, you will want to call to set up any inspections that you elected. It is also a good time to contact your insurance agent to get a quote and make sure there are no issues with obtaining insurance on your new home. A home inspection takes about three hours and the inspector looks thoroughly at the house and all of its components. If buying this house is very important to you, I highly recommend that you plan to attend the home inspection. Every house has imperfections (some worse than others) and this will allow you to see for yourself exactly what the issues are before you move in.

What to expect during a home inspection:

A good home inspector will educate you on how to rectify any of the issues and how to maintain the home (where the furnace filters are and how often you change them, etc). A home inspector will always find things wrong with any home and that most everything that he finds can be fixed either by the seller prior to closing, or by you after closing. Few transactions should fall apart due to a home inspection unless one of the parties is being unreasonable. Please keep in mind that some types of loan programs such as FHA, VA, and USDA require the appraiser to note if there is anything that they see that doesn’t meet their guidelines. Even if you are willing to pass on fixing an item, your loan program may require it to be fixed prior to closing. Home warranties are available and are sometimes included by the seller in the transaction. Just remember these warranties don’t cover everything and are typically good for one year unless you pay every year to renew.