What To Expect During A Home Inspection | Buyer and Seller Tips

Are you buying or selling your home and wondering to yourself, what is a home inspection? Why is it even important? Well then this is the video for you. Hey everyone, welcome back to my channel. I’m Ledeana Strand with Homes by Strand and Remax Town and Country in Port Orchard, Washington. Now again, if this is your first time here, don’t forget to hit that subscribe button down below and the little bell icon to be notified about my future videos, to stay up to date on all things real estate in Kitsap County, Washington. And you’re definitely going to wanna stick around to the very end, as I’ll be giving you access to my free ultimate home buyer’s guide, so stay tuned.

Now in today’s video, I’m gonna be talking to you about what a home inspection is and why it might be important to you, whether you’re buying or selling. Now, what is a home inspection? Well, a home inspection is when a home inspector comes into the home and looks at everything from the top down. They’re going to look at, you know, it from an objective point of view. They have no preconceived notions on how the sellers been living in the home. They have no preconceived notions on what work has or hasn’t been done on the home. They’re just looking at it as an outsiders perspective. Now, here in Washington State, inspectors do not have to be licensed, which in my opinion, is not a good thing. Now, a lot of other states require it, but here, you know, here we don’t, and I think it’s very important that they are. So, you wanna confirm that the inspector you’re, you know, you’re gonna hire is licensed. Now, a licensed home inspector has all the proper training, knowledge, and expertise, and experience to look at many different aspect of the home.

Now, according to the American Society of Home Inspectors, these are the key factors in a home, that a home inspectors gonna check. They’re going to check your heating system, your furnace, they’re gonna check your central air conditioning, if you have one, they’re also going to be checking all the interior plumbing and electrical, the crawl space if the home has one, and the attic as well. Now, you’ll wanna keep in mind that they can’t see what’s behind the walls, they’re gonna be checking what they can see visually, they’re gonna check the roof, they may even be able to estimate how old the roof is, if the seller has not disclosed how old, or maybe doesn’t know how old the roof is. The inspector can’t give you an exact date, but they’ll sometimes give you an estimate. This way you’ll know whether or not the roof will be expected to be replaced in a few years. Now, they’re also gonna check the walls, the ceilings, and the floors for any obvious damages or defects. They’re gonna check the windows and the doors, do they all open and close and function properly. They’re also gonna check the foundation make sure it’s nice and solid and that there’s no cracks that you should be concerned about. They’re also gonna go down and check everything in the crawl space, this includes any plumbing, electrical, finished or unfinished work, the foundation, and if, you know, there’s a basement, whether or not there’s any water intrusions.

Now as I said earlier, you know, clearly the home inspector’s not going to come into the home and start tearing out the walls and the flooring and all that kinda stuff. They’re just gonna go on their visual inspection. So, a lot of times a home inspector, if they see something that’s a possible defect that they’re a little bit concerned about, they’re certainly going to alert you, and then you can bring in somebody that’s licensed in that area, to investigate it further.

Now, you might be asking yourself, well, who pays for the home inspection? So, here in my local area, it is typically the buyer who pays for the inspection. Now, in the case where the sellers have done the home inspection prior to listing, you know, they can certainly offer you the report and then they can also tell you everything that they repaired. But I’m always gonna recommend, as a buyer, that you have your own inspection done, you know, you didn’t vet the inspector that they used, so you wanna be able to pick an inspector yourself. The other good thing about having a home inspection, is that you want to be able to walk through the home with the inspector and ask questions, and really get to know the home that you’re buying. A lot of times, once you go under contract, you know, you’ve only visited the home, you know, once, maybe twice. So, this is gonna give you another chance to really dive deep into the home and spend some time in the home.

Now, another question I get asked a lot, is how much is a home inspection? Well, that cost really can vary a great deal depending on a few things. Number one, where are you located? Now, here in Kitsap County, the average cost of home inspection, can range anywhere from 350 to about 750 dollars. Now, that big range, you might be saying, “well my goodness, it’s a difference “of 500 dollars, why is that?” The other aspect of it, it’s going to be the size and the age of your home, and the location, but 350 to 750 is about what you can expect to spend on a home inspection. So whether you’re buying or selling, I suggest calling the home inspection companies. Vetting them, and asking them, you know, what they’re gonna charge, and what is included in that cost.

Now, some additional cost in addition to the main home inspection might be further investigation into other areas or possible defects in the home. You know, those might include, lead paint or lead piping testing, mold testing, or if it has an oil tank that is still being used to heat the furnace, you might wanna have it inspected, to make sure that there are no leaks. And other item that’s common to inspect, both here in Washington State, and I know in other parts of the country, is the drain field for the septic system. If you’re purchasing a home with a septic system, you wanna bring in a company that can scope the drain field, as those can be quite costly to repair. Or if the home is hooked up to city sewer, you may wanna have a sewer company to scope out the sewer line to make sure that it’s clear, and that no repairs need to be made.

Now the last question I get asked a lot, is how long will the home inspection take? Now, the average is two to four hours, and that’s going to depend on several factors. Number one, the size and age of the home. Again, larger homes are gonna take longer. It’s also going to depend on how many questions the buyer or the seller ask, while they’re going through the home. Now, if you’re person has a lot of questions, which is fine, you’re allowed to ask any questions that you’d like, that’s certainly going to add time to the home inspection. The number of defects in the home is also going to affect how long it takes. Now certainly, the more defects you find, the longer it’s gonna take, because a lot of times, a home inspector will be explaining those defects to you as you’re following them through the home, you know, through the home inspection. And the last thing that’s gonna affect the timing, is how prepared the home is by the seller for the home inspection.

I hope this has shed some light for you on the home inspection process when buying or selling a home. If you have any questions or if there’s anything I can help you with, please don’t hesitate to ask. Even if you’re not in Kitsap County, Washington, feel free to shoot me a message and I’ll get you connected with a great agent in your area. Now as promised, there is link down below in the description to this video, to my ultimate home buyers guide. Now, don’t forget to click the link to get your free copy. And don’t forget to like this video and share it with your family and friends. Thank you for watching and make it a great home buying and selling day. See ya next time.