Home Inspections When Buying or Selling

Home Inspections

(These links are provided for informational purposes only & to get you started thinking about the various components of a property so you may do further research and inspections should you choose.)

Not Local - But a Great Site for Information

Great Pictures & Info

Partial List of Topics:

Asbestos

Chimney

Electrical Systems

Fire Damage

Structural Damage

Heating System

Hot Water Heater

Lead-Based Paint

Oil Leakage

Plumbing

Pitched Asphalt Roof

Slate Roof

Flat Roof

Rotted Wood

Termite

Water in Basement

Structural Engineers Associate of Illinois

Building Codes

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, Chicago

Health House

National Safety Council

HUD

American Homeowners Association

Environmental Guidebook

Get a good idea of what you're buying or selling - a good way to protect your investment and your peace of mind by getting a home and pest inspection from a qualified inspector.

Buyers can find out about the operations of the property they want to buy and address any concerns raised by a professional inspection and/or testing.

Sellers can find out about any possible problems and have them corrected before putting their property on the market and hopefully deter any unwanted surprises after the sale is closed.

Peace of mind for both the home seller and home buyer.

We expect total honestly from any inspector you choose. We'd expect them to point out problems, potential problems or concerns, to be qualified to answer in detail any questions you may have, etc., so you can make wise informed decisions.

We do not want your property inspection compromised in any way. If their report reveals problems and concerns, we'll address these issues through your attorney, who will correspond with the other attorney. If we cannot reach a satisfactory agreement between the parties concerning these issues, then you need to decide what you want to do in accordance with your contract terms, other negotiations and agreements that have since been made: proceed with the purchase/sale or to cancel the contract in a timely manner and move on.

Sellers please note that you will be required to disclose any known problems in writing that exist with your property on your Property Disclosure Form that is given to prospective buyers.

The Law!

State of Illinois Home Inspector License Act became effective January 1, 2003 requiring all companies or persons involved in the home inspection process to be licensed by the State of Illinois in accordance with the Home Inspectors License Act. Make sure you ask to see proof of licensing when you hire an inspector.

Home inspections are strongly advised for so many reasons. In Illinois, most sellers are required to give you a Residential Property Disclosure (up to four units) form when selling. Of course, there are some exceptions to this law. The sellers are legally required to tell you about problems or defects they know about for the property.

Our experience has been generally, sellers are fairly honest about their property's condition, because they know if they're not they may be consequences down the road.

Sometimes, sellers don't realize they may have a problem lurking with a component of their property. For example: from the outside the roof appears to be okay. Yet the roof may be showing signs of leakage in the attic. So far, it hasn't been enough to penetrate the ceiling in the house, and since the seller has never been in the attic crawl space, they're not aware of it.

However, it does show up during the home inspection process when the professionally trained home inspector goes into the attic area to get a good look around. The home inspector sees some discoloration on a couple of the roofs beams and traces the source to a water leak. Given time of course, it will become a greater problem and more expensive to fix. Now, the home inspector will let the buyer know about the leakage so it can be addressed between the seller and buyer, their respective agents and attorneys.

Problems that are relatively easy to discover are called "patent defects". Problems that may be hard or impossible to discover are known as "latent defects". And of course, no one can see inside walls, under floors, etc.

When looking around for home inspectors you want to make sure they have the credentials to do their job correctly, and can provide proof of being licensed by the state of Illinois as a home inspector. An ASHI recognized inspector (link below) is a good place to start. Also, get recommendations from friends and relatives who were happy with their inspector.

What does the inspector check? This depends on the company you select. Here are some of the things most home inspectors might check when doing their inspection (check with the inspectors you talk to for their specific items covered during the home inspection - what's included, what's excluded):

Roof, Chimney

Grading

Drainage

Sidewalk

Driveways

Overhead Garage Doors

Brick, Siding, Trims

Porches, Decks, Patios

Windows, Doors

Attic

Ceilings, Walls

Floors

Basement, Crawl

Foundation

Structure

Supports

Insulation

Ventilation

Electrical

Plumbing

Heating

Air Conditioning

Appliances

Termite Tests - extra $ (?)

Radon Tests - extra $ (?)

Lead Paint Tests - extra $ (?)

Mold Tests - extra $ (?)

Other tests - consult inspector

We strongly encourage you to attend the home inspection for several reasons. Since we are REALTOR's^® and not trained inspectors, you need to rely on someone who has the training, experience and credentials for the job, and can answer your questions.

You will need to understand any problems that arise from the inspection so the repair or replacement, etc. of any potential problems can be negotiated with the seller through me and/or your attorney.

Another important reason is the knowledge you'll gain from the inspector explaining how the systems in your new home work, steps to take to keep your home running smoothly for years to come, and possible steps to consider so you'll be proactive rather than reactive about maintenance.

If you've thought about major improvements to your new home, sometimes, if you run your idea by the inspector they may be able to give you tips about how to make it better or more workable, or they may be able to tell you that it may not be such a good idea to pursue and why.

However, since represent and work for only you, they can't recommend anyone to do the work because it would be a conflict of interest for them. At least, you'll get valuable feedback. An example of this would be if you wanted to install a pool, but the location you were thinking about wouldn't best because of landscaping issues and the gutter locations, etc. that in the long run could cause maintenance problems with the pool and the house. The inspector could point this out to you and suggest you consider moving it to another location.

See side notes

Do your research to ask them questions important to you before you hire them. Of course while we're at the property during your inspection other questions/issues may arise. Of course, as with nearly all professions, some are better than others so get recommendations from family and friends, your attorney, etc. about who they'd recommend. You can hire any professional, Illinois licensed home inspector you'd like. Ask for several references.

The costs for a professional home inspection run any where from $150 to several hundred dollars for the average home, depending on what you want done, the property size, etc.. Some buyers only want certain elements checked, others want a very thorough, detailed inspection. You need to decide which you prefer. Special tests and larger homes will increase the cost. But I believe it's money well spent. Home inspections have saved our clients thousands of dollars over the years. It's really a small price to pay for peace of mind.

ASHI Home Inspections

Inspect America

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