Whether you’re buying your first home or your fourteenth home, it’s always a good idea to have your home inspected. A home inspection gives you more detailed information about the overall condition of the home prior to your purchase. In a home inspection, a qualified inspector takes an in-depth, unbiased look at your potential new home to:
- Evaluate the physical condition: structure, construction, and mechanical systems;
- Identify items that need to be repaired or replaced; and
- Estimate the remaining useful life of the major systems, equipment, structure, and finishes.
Appraisals are Different from Home Inspections
An appraisal is different from a home inspection. Appraisals are for lenders; home inspections are for buyers. An appraisal is required to:
- Estimate the market value of a house;
- Make sure that house meets the FHA minimum property standards/requirements; and
- Make sure that the property is marketable.
FHA Does Not Guarantee the Value of Condition of your Potential New Home
If you find problems with your new home after closing, FHA cannot give or lend you money for repairs, and FHA cannot buy the home back from you. That is why it is so important for you, the buyer, to get an independent home inspection. Ask a qualified home inspector to inspect your potential new home and give you the information you need to make a wise decision.
Radon Gas Testing
The United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Surgeon General of the United States have recommended that all houses should be tested for radon. For more information on radon testing, call the toll-free National Radon Information Line at 1-800-767-7236. As with a home inspection, if you decide to test for radon, you may do so before signing your contract, or you may do so after signing the contract as long as your contract states the sale of the home depends of your satisfaction with the results of the radon test.
Be an Informed Buyer
It is your responsibility to be an informed buyer. Be sure that what you buy is satisfactory in every respect. You have the right to carefully examine your potential new home with a qualified home inspector. You may arrange to do so before signing your contract, or may do so after signing the contract as long as your contract states that the sale of the home depends on the inspection.
This information was brought to you by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Federal Housing Administration. For more housing resources information, visit their website at www.hud.gov.
Austin Solomon, Realtor | Coldwell Banker Action, Schofield, WI