If you plan to buy a home in 2025, make sure your realtor partners with Super Inspection Pros to obtain accurate, detailed, and timely information so you can make informed decisions.
4 Reasons To Schedule a Complete Inspection Before Purchasing a Home
Your inspection report provides everything a prospective homebuyer should know before pursuing the sale (or opting to keep shopping) and to determine the sales price that best reflects the home’s status.
Here are four reasons you’ll be glad you scheduled a complete home inspection before finalizing the deal.
1. A “New Home” Had More Issues Than You Expected
After purchasing a new construction home, we recommend an 11-month home inspection. This inspection is specifically designed to find common construction, installation, or systems errors that are still under the contractor’s one-year warranty.
However, buyers looking at homes that still fall into the “newer” category may be tempted to skip the pre-purchase inspection under the false assumption that new homes don’t have problems. That’s simply not true.
When we inspect homes that are less than 10 years old, we frequently find red flags, like:
- Grading and drainage issues.
- Missing insulation.
- Improper breaker sizes for HVAC or water heaters.
- Small leaks in either the roof or plumbing system.
- Cracks in the exterior envelope of the home.
- And more
Depending on what we find and the age of the home, some of these issues may still be under warranty by the contractors (especially if they impact integral structural support) or product manufacturers.
If nothing else, these inspections provide essential information that can guide purchasing decisions or help you create a post-purchase budget to bring the home up to par.
2. You Waived The Home Inspection to Expedite the Sale
While we never feel like waiving a home inspection is a good idea, we understand the desire to expedite a sale and skip the hassle of competing offers. However, once the house closes escrow, it’s still a good idea to schedule a complete home inspection and get the rundown on the home’s status.
Usually, we find at least a few items worth addressing to extend the integrity and longevity of the home’s structures and systems. We can also teach you more about the ins and outs of your home’s critical systems, along with our recommendations for routine maintenance.
3. Ask For Reasonable Buyer Credits or Price Reductions
Sellers who work to increase curb appeal can indeed hide a multitude of issues, but most people generally don’t know much about their home’s status before they sell it. Time flies, and so the current homeowners may not realize:
- Their roof is coming up on its 15th birthday, which means you could lose your homeowners insurance coverage.
- The extra green patch in the backyard is a septic/sewer red flag that can lead to thousands in repair bills.
- There’s a latent, hidden leak in an interior plumbing fixture that’s seeping into the interior walls (spotted by us and proven with infrared technology).
- Electrical panels or wiring are outdated or insufficient for the home (things are working fine, so they don’t realize the overloaded circuits actually pose a significant fire threat).
- They weren’t as current on their HVAC maintenance as they thought or that the system is on its last legs.
When we perform our inspection, the report may provide significant bargaining chips, allowing you to negotiate a better deal or to have specific items repaired before you close escrow.
Or, in other cases, our reports may yield more than you’re interested in dealing with, giving you the freedom to back out and search for a house that needs less work.
4. Secure the Best Homeowner’s Insurance Rates
Due to our area’s notable storm and hurricane season, Florida has some of the highest insurance rates in the nation. However, a passing grade on a 4-point inspection report, including the additional wind mitigation report, can help you get the lowest rates available when you shop for policies.
If the inspection report reveals more red flags than you expected, we can discuss the results with you – focusing on the repairs/replacements necessary to bring the house up to code or to optimize wind mitigation features. Once you’ve hired a licensed contractor to perform the work for you, our report and their detailed invoice covering the scope of work performed are all you’ll need to update your policy.
DeLand Area Realtors Trust SIP-And So Should You!
Super Inspection Pros (SIP) is the go-to home inspection company for real estate pros in DeLand and greater Volusia County. Our real estate partners know we can get the detailed information they need to serve their clients – and so should you.
Contact SIP to schedule a home inspection. Our inspectors will ensure you have the information you need to make wise investment choices. We guarantee you’ll have an inspection scheduled within three days of contacting us, and after the inspection, we’ll get you an accurate, detailed report within 24 hours or less.
