One of the most important parts of purchasing a home is having a home inspection. We strongly recommend that every buyer order a home inspection regardless of how many homes you’ve purchased in the past. This is your only opportunity to review what issues your prospective purchase may have and to address those with the seller.
There are several different types of home inspections to be aware of when you’re ordering those from a licensed and insured inspection company. First and foremost is the basic home inspection which covers the appliances and equipment, pool, ceilings, roof, walls, and structural components. You can then add to this inspection items such as a radon test, mold test, and termite inspection.
Your insurance carrier will require additional inspections to give you coverage on the property and get discounts for the upgrades. These inspections are as follows:
- Roof certification. Whether or not there are any active leaks, if there’s any damage and the estimated life of the roof.
- Four point inspection. Any updates to the roof, electrical system, heating & cooling, or plumbing. The inspector will also look for any safety hazards in those areas as well.
- Wind mitigation inspection. Depending on roof construction and hurricane protection in the home, there may be “credits” available to you for these upgrades.
These inspections are presented to you in a standard format that you give to your insurance company to keep your rates as low as possible. Often these home inspection reports are detailed and have numerous photos to show the insurer or the seller exactly what the issues or upgrades are in the home.
Ask your inspector to perform the insurance inspections at the time of your home inspection so that you can ask for timely quotes to properly evaluate your purchase and the ownership costs you’ll have.
We’d be happy to give you a recommendation for a home inspector for your new home, just give us a call at 239.293.0246.
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