Home Inspection Companies

Effectively Using Home Inspection Services

There are three parts to being confident in the physical condition of the property you are buying.

• One is to read very carefully the "Transfer Disclosure Statement" from the seller. This document is required in California, whereby the seller relates any information known about problems with the property. Holding back information and not disclosing it could place the seller in danger of a lawsuit.
• The second is to obtain a Home Warranty Policy, or Home Protection Policy. These are covered in detail below, but it is basically an insurance policy against certain unknown defects in the building for a period of time after the close of the sale, usually one year, with a renewable life.
• The third, is to be a wary buyer, and obtain a professional inspection from an inspection company or contractor. The inspector will find issues that are not readily available to the average buyer. He will examine plumbing systems, roofs, foundations and walkways, electrical systems, etc. and determine if there are any major problems.

At this point, we would like to make the following observation: you are typically not buying a "new" home, you are most often buying a "used" home, don't expect it to be perfect. With these three methods of really understanding what your buying and covering yourself for the unseen issues, you are protecting yourself as best you can.

If major issues are discovered, your real estate agent can assist you in using the contingencies in your contract to either cause the seller to make repairs if you can come to agreement, or get you out of the purchase contract with no monetary loss.