It’s funny how after you make an offer on a house you start noticing the flaws. We are in the inspection phase now, a fourteen day period in which we can poke and prod and bring in the experts to see what kind of shape the house is really in. Our termite guy found evidence of active drywood termites. I also noticed the floors are kind of wavy in places. So those two factors have prompted me to schedule a more thorough inspection. And of course we are also going to be looking for lead. As my friend Daisy said, you have to be prepared to spend a good thousand dollars just looking at a house. But it would be easy to spend more than that. Should we inspect for mold? Contaminated drywall? An energy audit? What about thermal imaging? My mind reels.
Inspections
Published inMiscellaneous
That’s crazy…Our home inspection covered almost everything. It’s amazing how things such as these vary by state.
Trippy how the Real Estate Mafia works.
Not only did you guys buy your first house with plenty of obvious lead paint on
the surfaces (your photos), Which eluded notice of the “Inspector”, but then ACORN did their process and STILL you
had these obvious remnants in the doorsills, window screen frames, etc.
Our example was electrical.
Nobody said nuthin’ as we bought the place…of course you go
through the “Inspections”….when it came time to try to Sell this place,
five years later, Looking in the Breaker-box,
the Inspector flagged us for unsafe–“Double-Lugged”, and we had to spend
around $1600.00 to make it right.
You might be better off building from scratch, but that would be really pricey
Those two factors alone spell TROUBLE.
those two factors can also get the price way down if you are willing to deal with them and the buyer really wants to sell.
they got my house down 30.000 at purchase which became sweat equity.
good luck yall.
OT, but thanks for telling me about China Miéville’s The City and The City. It takes you into a strange world and I could not put it down. I had never heard of Miéville and will be checking out his other books.
Good luck on the house. Just remember that there are lots of houses around and that you guys will likely be living there for a long time. If this house isn’t the one, the next one may be.
You should consider a video plumbing inspection. I’d recommend Hi-Tech. These things usually run about $250, and they’ll run a video snake all through the house and out to the city lines. I had a friend who discovered a $2000 problem this way – and therefore was able to make the seller pay to have it fixed.
How about using some of the supplies you already own to test the place for lead? That (and your conventional inspection) should give you a good indication of whether an additional inspection is needed.
prepare to pay for multiple appraisals thanks to new federal law re: appraisals.
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