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Buyers & Sellers: A Guide on How to Deal with Bad Home Inspection Results

Central Iowa Home Inspections

Posted on January 21, 2016 at 11:15 am

Hiring an inspector to perform a pre-listing inspection is an important step in your home selling process. When potential buyers are interested in your home, they will be comfortable placing an offer when they know the true condition of the home. Buyers rely on pre-purchase inspections to give them peace of mind before moving into a home. Contact Done Right Home Inspection for a thorough pre-listing inspection for your home today.

The Process

Deciding to get a home inspection, whether you’re a seller or a soon-to-be (new) homebuyer, is an important first step in the overall process. A home inspection puts everything out on the table – including the good, the bad, and the “needs work” in the home. The home inspection process lets the seller, or buyer, know the behind-the-scenes condition of the home before any negotiations are made during the closing process. If an inspector finds any issues with the home, it is the seller’s job to truthfully notify any potential buyers of the things that need fixed.

The Results

Inspections can be scary. Typically what you see on the surface of a home turns out to be entirely different from what an inspector finds Always prepare for the worst and hope for the best possible outcome. If an inspector finds issues in your home, know that it is better to discuss the issues with the buyer from the beginning of the buying process rather than hiding it from them and face the consequences. Hiding your home’s true condition with a buyer can cause legal issues later on.

For many buyers, the thought of a home inspection causes panic from possibly having their dream home ripped away from them because of severe problems that would make the home “unbuyable” in their eyes.. No homeowner wants to deal with thousands of dollars in repairs immediately after moving in, so if the problems need immediate attention, that scenario could scare away a handful of buyers.

The Options

When an inspector uncovers issues in your home, you have two options moving forward. Option 1 is to fix the issues yourself. Option 2 is to notify the buyers of the issue and bargain a closing deal so they can fix the issues themselves after moving in. There are pros and cons of both options. If the seller chooses to fix the problem themselves, this could prolong the closing process. If the buyer agrees to fix the home’s issues, this could be more expensive depending on the bids they submit from the repair companies.

Typically when there are issues with the home that could be a substantial investment to fix, buyers will negotiate a much lower price to allow room in their budget for costly repairs. If the buyer wants to fix the problems themselves, they should submit a request for repairs and give the seller a quote based on the cost of the fixes or repairs. Overall, a compromise between buyer and seller is the best way to approach this situation.

Des Moines Home Inspections – We Can Help!

At Done Right Home Inspection, we want to help make your home inspection process simple and easy. Our pre-listing inspections can help you to increase your home’s value, ensure a faster selling process, and avoid future problems for your buyers later on. Contact us today to request an inspection for your Central Iowa property!

Causes of Attic Moisture and How To Prevent It

Keep Moisture out of your Attic

Posted on January 13, 2016 at 12:50 pm

Moisture in your attic is a common problem that many homeowners discover during a routine home inspection. Contrary to what many people think, the cold temperatures during the winter will lead to more moisture accumulation in the cold areas of your home. Typically, homeowners use fans and ventilation to prevent humidity moisture build-up during the warm summer months, but the winter is also a time you need to be taking preventative measures.

Moisture Prevention Strategies

The best solution for controlling moisture is to find the source. Moisture could be accumulating from clogged gutters, insufficient downspouts, foundation moisture build-up or even from air seeping in through your windows. Once you control any air leaks, make sure that you install the correct type of insulation with vapor barriers. These steps should be taken before you install any attic ventilation systems.

The go-to solution of many homeowners is to only increase attic ventilation during the winter. Although this seems like an overall solution, attic ventilation during the winter can actually lead to an increase in unwanted condensation build-up because of a decrease in your attic’s temperature. The best types of ventilation systems are the ones with proper air intake and exhaust. Once your home is sealed properly, an attic fan will equalize the outdoor and indoor temperatures of your attic. The warmer air inside your attic is replaced with dryer air that prevents condensation and ice from forming.

If you neglect to treat moisture in your attic, your home could experience mold and fungus growth, wood rot, insulation damage, or water leaks through the roof in your home. If your home inspector discovers a little moisture in your home, you should fix the problem immediately. If left untreated, the moisture could cause a lot of expensive damages in your home.

Call Done Right for a thorough home inspection that can detect problems with attic moisture.

8 Common Problematic Areas of Your Home

Posted on at 12:32 pm

Heating & Cooling Systems

Heating and cooling systems don’t last forever. They require routine maintenance and servicing in order to keep them in proper working condition for longer. When buying a new home, it is important that your inspector carefully checks the homeowners upkeep of their heating and cooling systems, the age of the system, and the overall functionality. Running the systems will help you detect any issues. Although homeowners should get their furnace serviced every year, many fail to do this if their systems seem to be working properly with no issues. Neglecting to clean your furnace can result in dirty air ducts and system failure.

Plumbing

Plumbing issues might be one of the hardest issues to detect during an inspection. Pipes are typically hidden out-of-sight. Older homes seem to pose more problems with plumbing. It is important that your inspector double checks under all sinks and checks for loose or leaky pipes. It is also important that they check the ceiling or walls for water stains which can indicate a prior leak.

Ventilation

When a home isn’t ventilated properly, mold or mildew can start to form. It is important that there is sufficient air flow throughout every room in the house, including the garage and attic. Moisture tends to build up in bathrooms, so it is necessary to have a ventilation fan that works well.

Electrical Wiring

Inspectors will make sure that your electric is up to code in order to prevent future problems down the road. Common electrical safety concerns include knob and tube wiring, grounded outlets, and ground fault breaker outlets can pose as a hazard for families with young children.

Roof

When buying a home, the roof is something you should never compromise on. Roof issues can lead to much more serious issues. One of the only problems with roofs is that homeowners won’t address a weathering roof until there is serious damage because the cost to fix or replace a roof is very high.

Windows

Your inspector will check each and every window to make sure they all function properly. They will check to make sure the windows open, close, and are sealed tight. When a window is not sealed properly, cold or hot air can seep in causing your heating and cooling systems to work twice as hard to maintain the desired temperature.

Appliances

When homeowners are negotiating added cost for the appliances in the home, it is important that the appliances are in good working order. Your inspector can do research on the year, brand, and model and figure out how old the appliance is, if there’s still a warranty, or possibly a recall. If the appliance will need replaced within the next year, you can save yourself a lot of money by doing the research beforehand.

Done Right Home Inspectors Can Help

Buying a home is a large investment…Probably the biggest investment you’ll ever make in your entire life. So, it’s important to take it seriously. Hiring an inspector before you buy a home will save you time and money from having to fix the problems later on. Contact Done Right Home Inspection company for quality inspections in Central Iowa | 515- 962-0040

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