What is a Home Inspection?
A home inspection is a visual examination of a property's condition, usually conducted by a professional inspector. The inspection typically covers the home's structural components, such as the foundation, roof, walls, and floors, as well as its electrical, plumbing, and heating/cooling systems.
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During a home inspection, the inspector will look for any defects or safety hazards that could affect the property's value, safety, or livability. The inspector will also examine the property's overall condition and identify any necessary repairs or maintenance.
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After the inspection, the inspector will provide the homebuyer with a detailed report that outlines the findings. The report may include photos of any issues that were found, general information on utility locations, along with recommendations for repairs or further evaluation.
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A home inspection is an important step in the home-buying process, as it can help the buyer make an informed decision about whether or not to purchase the property. It can also be an opportunity for the buyer to negotiate repairs or a lower purchase price based on the findings of the inspection. Your agent will not only review your report but guide you through the best strategy for negotiations.
Do you have an inspector you like to use? Absolutely, of course we have referrals for you! Our clients have had great success with Frisbie Home Inspections in Oregon and Clear View Home Inspections in Washington
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What does it costs? You pay whoever you choose as your inspector directly, meaning this cost not included in your closing costs/prepaids/down payment - this is in addition to those. Many inspectors base their pricing off of your square footage. To be safe, I would budget $400-1500 but any inspector should be able to give you an estimate prior to scheduling.
Are there other recommended tests we should be doing? When scheduling your inspection, we would also recommend a sewer scope at minimum and if you really want to be safe a radon test. In our professional opinion a sewer scope is non-negotiable. Sewer issues can be very expensive but typically they're fixable - usually the seller is willing to help with any deal breaking sewer issues. If there are any sleeping quarters on the first level we would highly suggest a radon test as well. Most home inspectors will have an option to add these tests while you're scheduling.
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Is your next home in a rural area? Then you definitely want to consider a septic and well inspection. Sometimes the seller will have already performed these tests in order to get their home ready for the market but if they have not here are a few referrals. Lil' Stinky's has a great reputation in Oregon for all things septic related. We would recommend First Call Septic Services in Washington. For water testing and well inspections we would recommend Alpha Environmental in Oregon and BSK Associates in Washington.
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In Oregon we have 10 BUSINESS days from mutual acceptance to get out of the contract for inspection related items where as in Washington we have 10 days including weekends. We would consider this our most important deadline because it's our easiest and most times our last opportunity to get your earnest money back if you don't love the property anymore for any reason.
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To schedule your home inspection with Frisbie Home Inspections click HERE!
