Types of Home Inspection

Electrical

A general home inspector may tell you that the electrical box is so old that no longer complies with the city code. But an electrician can tell you the best brands to replace it with and how much it costs. Among other things that they can do other disclosures. So usually electrical box cost anywhere between 1000 and 2000. Be sure to check out the electrical panel and Google the bottom number to make sure it has not been recalled or needing to be replaced.

Lead-based paint

The Federal Government banned the use of lead-based paint way back in 1978. But older homes and even some built after that can still contain it. So you have the right to have a home tested for lead-based paint. And also it is required to have disclosure in your contract for it.
So you can do that and you can have a contractor to make sure.

Heating and air conditioning

So here in Florida as you know air conditioning. You know we got to make sure it’s working right. So the inspector might measure the differential temperature reading from the air conditioner on basically the air conditioner and the low and the high and you know if people haven’t run their heat that could cause a problem too. So inspected by HP AC specialist to see why most things need to be replaced or need to be serviced an HPC specialist can tell you what’s wrong how much is it going to cost and fix it and whether it needs to be replaced or not. Usually, if a seller gets these things done beforehand and gets it checked out that can cause that can stay and take care of a lot of issue wood damage.

So destroying wood damage critters is just another part. You know termites here in Florida are big. So making sure that there’s no wood rot. You know a pest inspection disclosure. Not only presence of termites but powder post beetles but anything other any and the other types of issues.

Foundation

Well, a home inspector can tell you if your home was built on a slab or raise the foundation and note suspicious cracks a foundation engineer can tell you if the home is sliding or foundation what the cracks if there are any issues or not. So you might want to do that if there are any problems. Pool and spa usually an inspector is just going to check it out but you can actually hire a diver to get in there. That’s a totally different inspection. To see if there are any leaks or anything else with the pool or the spa.

Usually a regular Inspector all they’re going to do is just see what they can see as far as heating and pool but they don’t do those. So a roof, if the seller will pay for a roof certification an older roof then get your own. So make sure the company is reputable. And the thing is with the roof inspection. A lot of the time the inspectors will actually bring out a roofer as well to make sure everything is okay. It really depends but definitely makes sure that the roof is checked out and how old is the roof Because you want to make sure that also you can get insurance on that roof.
Sewer / septic system. you know get a sewer or septic tank inspection. You can also have you know some of the older homes may not be connected to a sewer system. You know modern inspection technology calls for a digital camera to be inserted into the sewer line. And push through to the mainline. So this is also another inspection that you can have.
Many sewer inspectors even make movies for you to see it.

Soil stability

Testing the soil is important possibly for you if you’re a buyer and you’re buying a home that is on a hill because you don’t want your home or any other part of the hill sliding away during a rainstorm. Not common but some people like it. So some areas are prone to soil contamination and that might be a time for you to do that.

Landscaping

the best way to determine if the trees and bushes on the property are healthy is to hire somebody to take a look at that and inspect them. That’s something that’s also really not that common but some people do it.

Water systems and plumbing

If the plumbing you know you see an issue at all get a plumber out. You know they can run things and inspect things. You know a home inspector is not a plumber. So you can get further inspections that you can pay for it as far as any concerns that you have.

Mold inspection

Usually homes a lot of them have a little bit that they’re going to be detected but you can actually have a full home mold inspection to see how much more this in the home. Is that Common as well? Not usually unless it’s in an area that there’s a lot of molds already on that community. But that’s not really common as well. Usually you can see some of the mold in the walls already and thing and it can be detected you know you can get a four-point inspection. Especially if it’s an older home. It might be required. So a four-point inspection is just checking the four points of the home to see the condition the age and everything else. You know a lot of the things that you do your roof it has certain things you know how old the roof is or anything like that. Your insurance on the home you can sometimes save a thousand to fifteen hundred just because of the type of roof you have when it was built same with hurricane windows and everything else. So there are all sorts of different types of inspections you can have. Not all inspections are physical. Researching records you can usually pull up a lot of information. Making sure the square footage is correct. You know you may want to verify the square footage of the home sometimes it’s different than what the public records even says. Buyers or their lenders can hire an appraisal. So usually the appraisal happens if you get a loan but not necessarily if it’s a cash deal.

Easements and encroachments

Your owner’s title manual will disclose easements but ask the title company to send you the actual easement documentation form. The public markets too you can research so much. Hire a surveyor to inspect and prepare an improvement.

You know sometimes surveyors are required but you can see you know exactly what you own and what the lot size and the boundaries are. A preliminary search for a tighter policy will get you the plot map showing you the boundaries and the size of the lot. So consider hiring a surveyor if you’re doing a cash deal. This is something you might want to do for more information on your home.

So don’t rely on fences to determine boundaries because a lot of the time they aren’t right. Permits and zoning you can go to your city planning department and actually ask to see the permits on the home and they can actually show it to you. Sometimes people remodel without permits. The zoning department can tell you for example if running a home-based business is legal and maybe on the MLS or whatever they’re telling you it’s legal and you find out it’s not. So there’s so much information that I shared with you today. Just take a couple of bits and that is going to help you. Working with the right realtor that really knows the business means everything especially in a home inspection and negotiations and everything.