Florida home why should you get a home inspection

3 Reasons Why Should You Get A Home Inspection

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A home inspection is a detailed assessment of a residence. An inspector walks through the house and around the outside of the building looking for specific clues that indicate structural and system issues great and small. They heavily document their findings through photographs and written notes and present them to you as a home inspection report. 

Many people feel they can save money by skipping the home inspection and can detect every issue in a home themselves. But that rarely ends well: After the purchase is made, repairs pile up. A pipe might burst, the roof might leak, or termites are crawling in the house, and the hot water heater stops working. Now, they have no choice but to fix everything. They could have avoided it all if a home inspector checked the house before they closed the deal.

When you ask yourself, “Do I really know what I’m buying?” Unless you get an inspection, the answer is, “No, absolutely not.” Why should you get a home inspection? Here are 3 reasons why:

#1 What You See Isn’t Always What You Get

When viewing a home that you are interested in, you might detect some obvious signs of aging or property damage, but there is a lot hidden in plain sight. Even a newly constructed home should have a home inspection performed to protect you from buyer’s remorse.

Think of it this way: A doctor knows the human body like a home inspector knows a house. When you pay for a home inspection to be done on a property, you are receiving an expert diagnosis on the health of that home. 

If you come along during the inspection, it’s like visiting your doctor. You ask questions and get a professional opinion on the condition of the house. Every vital detail comes to light.

After the inspection is over, the home inspector will provide you with a meticulous report of all of their findings. You can take those papers home with you and make an educated decision — do you want to buy it or pass it up?

#2 Avoid the Necessity for Major Repairs

One of the primary objectives of a home inspection is to pinpoint and evaluate the components of a residential property that will cost big bucks to repair. The last thing you want to do after buying an expensive home is to pay for costly renovation projects.

Let’s take an old roof, for example. If a roof is 12 years old and has three layers of shingles on it, you’ll need to have the entire roof removed and a new one installed. That’s a $20,000 investment on top of your mortgage! 

You will save yourself from worry, stress, and financial strain by spending $300 to $600 on a home inspection. It gives you the opportunity to negotiate repairs with the seller or walk away from the purchase altogether, which brings us to our third reason to get a home inspection…

#3 Negotiation

Once you have a home inspection report in your hand, you have proof of exactly what condition the house is in. That gives you leverage.

There are a few options you can take:

  1. Request that the seller makes the repair themselves with no change to the asking price. Some sellers are happy to address these issues for you. 
  2. Ask the seller to include “credit” for the repair on their closing price. That means that they reduce the price of the home by the estimated repair cost.
  3. See if the seller will make the repair themselves and then add the price of the renovation project to the price of the home. This allows you to pay it off with your mortgage.  

The only exception to this rule applies when you are buying in “hot areas.” If a home goes up for sale in an area that is highly sought after, your chances of negotiation are slim to none. You can either walk away or close the deal because if you don’t, someone else will. 

Home Inspection Services Near Me

If you are looking for an inspection service in the Tampa Bay area in Florida, look no further than Divinity Inspection Services. We will provide you with a thorough report that will help you decide if that home is right for you. Be rest assured that you are in excellent hands with a Divinity Inspector. We have 29 certifications and we uphold the InterNACHI Standards of Practice.

Get in touch with us today and schedule your home inspection!

Question and answer What is not included in a home inspection

What Is Not Included In a Home Inspection?

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Question and answer - What is not included in a home inspectionA home inspection’s purpose is to investigate and report information about major factors of a residential property that could cost a substantial amount of money to repair or replace. In the past we discussed what a home inspection covers, but what is not included in a home inspection? We are reviewing 8 areas of interest that inspectors do not include in their home inspection report. Many of these points are extremely important and will require a separate inspection performed by you or a professional.

#1 Hidden Issues: Some details are impossible to detect.

Your inspector is still human; He or she does not have psychic powers or x-ray vision. If the seller conceals evidence well enough or the issue is latent, some problems will slip by. If concerning details are not present, an inspector can’t report it.

It’s also important to note that an inspector is not required to move furniture or other obstacles to reach outlets, appliances, or systems. If their path is blocked or unsafe, they will not inspect it. If areas are not accessible, your report will note that the inspector could not properly inspect it or he/she will reschedule the entire home inspection.

#2 Appearance: Looks aren’t everything!

Cosmetic or aesthetic defects are not reported. If the paint job is awful, the home buyer can plainly see it. The home inspector is only worried about ugly details that spell trouble, like bubbling or peeling paint — a sign of moisture buildup.

Bad decorations are also not a cause for alarm. Even if decorative items are atrocious, an inspector will not include it in their report. 

#3 Finances: Is the price right?

Estimating the cost of repairs, replacements, or the market value of a home is not a part of your home inspector’s job description. Neither is evaluating the life expectancy of the components on your property. 

Some home inspectors will guess based on the evidence they find and their knowledge of how long most components of a home last. But it shouldn’t be treated as an absolute truth. 

#4 Home Insurance: Wrong inspection!

Your home inspection report will not determine the insurability of your property. In order to receive home insurance, you must receive a 4 point inspection from an inspector hired by your insurance provider. A wind mitigation inspection helps you to lower your premium with discounts based on how well your home adheres to present building codes and regulations.

These are our first 4 items. Would you have known about what is not included in a home inspection? Find out more in our second half of the list. This leads us to #5.

#5 Building Codes and Regulations

If you are a home seller, you may be relieved to know that a home inspection won’t expose your secret DIY projects. But for a buyer, that might not be welcome news. If this is something that is important for you to know before closing the deal, contact Divinity Inspection Service. We offer an enormous variety of inspections and will happily accommodate you and your needs. 

#6 Non-permanent items: Don’t sweat the small stuff. 

Remember, a home inspection is about major components of the property that can cost you big time. That means your home inspection does not include the:

  • Refrigerator
  • Washer and dryer
  • Irrigation system
  • Security system
  • Water softener
  • Alarm system
  • Intercom
  • Speaker system
  • and so on… 

These are low-ticket replacements or repairs that could add up if enough of them are broken. It’s wise to check these out yourself or ask the homeowner to demonstrate that they work before you sign anything.

#7 Hazards: Health and safety

A home inspector will report any evidence of the following that they find during the inspection process, but they are not obligated to detect and inform you of their presence. Divinity Inspection Service goes above and beyond their requirements and will look for evidence of mold and pests at no extra charge.

According to Internachi, home inspectors are not required to report:

  • Animals including racoons, birds, bats, and rodents
  • Insects including termites, cockroaches, carpenter ants, or fleas
  • Microorganisms including mildew, mold, or fungus
  • Air quality including radon
  • Well water quality
  • Environmental hazards including hazardous waste, asbestos, or lead paint.
  • Electromagnetic fields 

They also won’t report if you are near a flood zone or sinkhole. 

#8 The 3 S: Sewer, Septic, and Swimming Pools

Item no. 8 of what is not included in a home inspection is the underground portion of a sewer or septic system. This part is only visible through the use of a small camera that is snaked down in hard-to-reach places. This is not a part of the home inspection process. An inspector will flush toilets, check pipes, and look into the septic tank, but there is a lot more under the surface that could stir up trouble such as cracked pipes.

Swimming pools may be commonplace in Florida homes, but they are not part of a standard home inspection. We can provide you with a separate pool inspection in addition to the home inspection.

 You want to make informed decisions about your investments, and home inspectors help you do that by carefully looking around and inside of the property in question. If you are interested in having a home inspection performed in Florida within the Tampa Bay area, contact us. 

 

wind sock info about wind mitigation inspection

What Is a Wind Mitigation Inspection?

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Wind Mitigation is the process of reinforcing a home to help it resist the damage that can occur from high winds and excessive rainfall accompanied by hurricane weather. When a hurricane hits your home in Florida, wind tears at any weak point and water is forced into every space available. 

After some trial and error, the state of Florida figured out how to encourage more homes to be built and renovated in a way that protected them best from hurricanes. The Wind Mitigation Inspection was the result.

wind sock - info about wind mitigation inspection

The History of the Wind Mitigation Inspection

When Hurricane Andrew hit Florida in 1992, insurance companies packed up and left Florida. They wanted nothing to do with the devastating effects of tropical storms. 

Florida needed to do something in order to keep insurance companies in the state and the residence insured. So in 2002, the Florida Department of Community Affairs posed the idea of mitigation credits, and for three years starting in 2006, the state funded “My Safe Florida Home.” This program offered free wind mitigation inspections and grants to those who passed. 

Within 2007, Florida required insurance providers to send their policyholders a “Notice of Premium Discounts For Hurricane Loss Mitigation,” and the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation adopted the “Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form.” 

This form was to be filled out by professionals who met certain requirements.

Who Provides Wind Mitigation Inspections?

When seeking home insurance premium discounts in Florida, homeowners are asked to have a Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection performed on their property. Individuals recognized by the insurance agency as qualified can provide this service, including: 

  • Building code inspector 
  • Contractor 
  • Engineer 
  • Architect
  • Certified home inspector

Every professional that conducts a wind mitigation inspection has passed a CILB wind mitigation training course. If you need a home inspector to perform this inspection for you in Tampa, St. Petersburg, or Brooksville, FL, contact us and schedule a time that is convenient for you.

Now that we know who conducts this inspection, let’s go over exactly what they inspect.

7 Major Categories of a Wind Mitigation Inspection

Building Codes

When was your home built? That is a key piece of evidence that will help determine if your house complies with Florida’s newest building codes. 

Roof covering

Your roofing material and how old it is are two important indicators that help insurance companies determine just how resistant it will be when hurricane winds, hail, and rain strike.

Roof-to-Wall Attachment

How well is your roof attached to the walls of your house? Will it fly away? We hope not! 

To identify what is attaching your roof to the walls, the inspector needs attic access. If none is available, you won’t be able to qualify for credit for this category.

The most popular choices are:

  • Double wraps (Ideal)
  • Single wraps
  • Anchor Bolts
  • Clips
  • “Toenails” (Worst)

Roof-Deck Attachment 

How well is your roof attached to your rafters? Looking at nail thickness, quantity, spacing, and design, as well as the roof sheathing itself, a certified professional will decide how strong your roof is attached. They will rate it on a scale of 1 to 3, with 3 being the strongest and 1 being the weakest.

Opening Protection

Is every entry point of your home secured? This category focuses on windows and doors, including skylights and garage doors. 

Your windows should have tempered glass or impact-resistant shutters and your doors should be sealed properly; otherwise, your openings aren’t protected. But if you can check off all those boxes, that discount is as good as yours.

Secondary Water Resistance 

This is not related to the details of the house’s structure, but an additional layer of protection that newer homes or old homes with new roofs installed will have. If you have it, it will be very obvious and worthy of insurance credit.

Roof Geometry

The shape of your roof is a crucial factor when determining how well your home will weather a tropical storm. Really, what they are looking for is a hipped or hip roof because it offers the least resistance, allowing wind to run off. This is a pitched roof that has four sloping sides, no vertical sides or gables. Think about a pyramid shape, and you will easily picture a square hipped roof shape. 

What Happens After a Wind Mitigation Inspection?

The inspector will analyze your home’s level of protection from hurricane damage and report their findings to your insurance provider. Your premium will not raise if you do not pass one or all seven focal points of the wind mitigation inspection. For every category you pass, you will receive more credit or discounts from your insurance carrier. How much exactly will be decided by the insurer? Every company is different. 

If you have questions about Wind Mitigation Inspections, email or call us.

Resources: 

All information within this blog post was gathered from:

  • Inspection Certification Associates 
  • InterNACHI
  • Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation
Information on what is a 4 point inspection

What is a 4-Point Inspection?

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Information on what is a 4 point inspection

When you want home insurance, home inspectors are an unbiased, independent third party that can assess the state of your home. A 4-point inspection is a basic, non-invasive, and non-technical inspection made to inform the insurance carrier of the house based on four main elements of your home: 

  1. Roof
  2. Electrical
  3. Plumbing
  4. HVAC 

All prerequisites are up to each individual insurance company. However, there are a few key elements that Divinity Inspection Service look for and report on in Tampa Bay, Florida. Let’s explore each of these areas of your property in more detail.

The 4 Aspects of a 4-Point Inspection

1. The Roof

Insurance companies prefer a 3 to 5-year life expectancy or more. There are multiple factors at play that determine how much time a roof may have left in it. An asphalt shingle roof will age faster than a tin or tile one. Inspectors may check when the permit for the roof was acquired in order to offer a better estimate of its lifespan. 

Trees overhanging pose a risk and an inspector will look for evidence of the damage that fallen branches can cause. Damage such as missing or torn shingles, cracked tile, and any evidence of leaks will not be approved.

2. The Electrical System

When examining the electrical system, we look for a few major issues.

Double-Tap Breakers

A double-tap is when there is more than one wire present underneath the lug. This extra wiring could be neutral or a live wire. The only exception to this safety violation is if the breaker is rated for double-tapping. Some newer models are designed for this purpose. In this case, the wires are on different sides of the lug.

Aluminum vs Copper Wiring

When it comes to wiring, copper is king. There are many reasons why aluminum is inferior to copper, but when it comes to insurance purposes, the main concern is the fire hazards aluminum can create. Aluminum is prone to thermal expansion and contraction which increases the risk that it will loosen, slip out, and arc. Many insurance companies will refuse to insure homes with aluminum wiring no matter what. Some will only do so with certain safety precautions in place. 

The worst aluminum wiring to have is single-stranded. Multi-strand aluminum is better but is still considered undesirable. It has less of a chance of coming loose but requires more material than a copper wire.

It is especially dangerous if it isn’t mitigated with coopomes or allubicome. These are small devices that connect the aluminum wiring with copper wiring in your electrical panel, and for all of your light switches, fixtures, and outlets. 

Cloth Covered Wires

It’s important to note that some insurance companies will not approve homes that have cloth-covered wire. It is a controversial subject and therefore is up for personal discretion. Every insurance provider will have a different opinion. 

Main electrical panel

Age and when it was last updated and that there aren’t any present blown fuses or breakers. We look for loose wires, empty breaker sockets, improper grounding, and the like.

3. Plumbing

The roof isn’t the only place that we look for leaks and other signs of water damage. 

Pipes

The home inspector will check all exposed pipes for dripping, soft spots, mold, and moisture. They will also look to see what the pipes are made of. Galvanized steel and cast iron rust and will disqualify you from being covered by an insurance carrier. They want CPVC, PVC, and copper. 

Hot water heater

Hot water heaters can be dangerous. At the end of their life, they have been known to explode, spraying scalding hot water in every direction, leading to water damage and potentially serious injury. 

That’s why the 4 point inspection includes looking for a TPR valve with a discharge pipe, otherwise known as a blow leg. This vertical pipe should discharge water within 6 inches of the floor, directing the water safely to the floor if the water heater ruptured. 

4. HVAC

  • Is your condenser unit on a hurricane pad?
  • What condition is it in?
  • Is it stable?
  • Is it functional?
  • These are a few questions the home inspector will be asking themselves when they look at your HVAC. 

In addition to that, they will look at the air handler for your heating system and make sure that the condensate line is draining properly and the catch pan is not full of water. The serial number on the unit will be used to indicate its age, and the model number offers. 

InterNACHI Florida 4-Point Inspection

If the 4-point home inspection reports a problem that the insurance company refuses to accept, it is your responsibility as the homeowner to fix that problem. A home inspector will return to see if the issue has been remedied. If your home passes the inspection, the insurance company will cover your home. 

There are many home insurance providers, each with their own unique requirements, but InterNACHI certified home inspectors like Divinity Home Inspection Services will use the InterNACHI Florida 4-point inspection form. Check it out for a more comprehensive list of what we look for.

Once you pass a Divinity Inspection Services 4-point inspection and receive home insurance, you may not be finished. If you do major repairs like installing a new roof, you will want to capitalize on discounts your insurance provider offers. In order to receive a discount, a different inspection will be performed called “Wind Mitigation.” These will be done every five years to reevaluate your home and what discounts you are eligible for. Read more about Divinity Inspection Services Wind Mitigation Inspection here. 

If you have any questions about 4-point inspections or wind mitigation inspections in Tampa Bay, Florida, feel free to contact us.

 

home repair tools

The Best Home Repairs For Sellers to Make in 2021

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Some say that there are two types of home repairs in the home selling process: negotiable and non-negotiable. The reality is, you don’t have to fix anything in your home prior to selling it. You can sell it “as is”. However, you must abide by the Florida laws concerning disclosure. This means you have to inform buyers of all defects and dangers that may be present on and within your property.

However, if you decide against doing the repairs, you might have to wait longer for a buyer or accept selling it for a lower price. If your price is too high and the building has too many problems, it could stay on the market indefinitely. By knowing the most common repairs sellers make to close the deal, you can pinpoint your best investment options.

home repair tools

Within the first few weeks of the contract, your house will probably undergo at least one inspection by a private inspection service like Divinity Home Inspection Services. If the buyer was approved for a VA or FHA mortgage loan, you will also receive an appraisal by a VA or FHA certified appraiser. 

Appraisals and Home Repair

Federally funded lenders will refuse to give a loan to buyers if certain problems in the home have not been rectified before the sale, and VA and FHA mortgage loans make up about 20% of the market. (JCHS of Harvard University, 2020) 

If you receive a VA or FHA appraisal and the repairs aren’t too costly, you should definitely consider fixing them. Even if the buyer walks away, once completed, you can market your home by promoting that your property meets the VA or FHA property standards.

But there are some conditions that may disqualify you right away for the strict FHA requirements like living near an airport or near heavy traffic. So don’t fret until you receive that list of appraisal conditions and find out if the qualifications are within your control.

These conditions highlight areas that affect:

  • Safety
  • Security
  • Soundness

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, FHA renovations requirements include but are not limited to:

  • Repairs
  • Roof moisture
  • Plumbing
  • Frayed or exposed wires
  • Cracked or broken glass
  • Termite damage
  • Rotting structural material
  • Damaged walls or ceilings
  • Poor craftsmanship
  • Replacements
  • Roof
  • Water heater
  • Installation
  • Carbon monoxide detectors
  • Smoke detectors
  • Handrails
  • Countertop

 

Potential Repair Requests by Buyers

After a home inspection, the prospective buyer might ask for repairs to be made before the deal is closed. In fact, you might even receive a scroll’s length of renovation requests.

Let’s take a look at the most common repairs that might be requested from a seller before they sell:

  • Electrical issues
  • Plumbing (especially leaks)
  • HVAC system issues
  • Foundation problems
  • Roof damage
  • Pest infestations
  • Moisture and mold

Repairs are not required if the home purchase involves a conventional loan.  However, they might be worth the trouble if it means a difference between selling your home now or later.

Cosmetic upgrades may be requested too. It’s polite to make these fixes if they are minor and do not cost much to complete. However, it’s always within your rights to say no. These repairs may include:

  • Peeling or chipped paint
  • Holes in the wall
  • Leaky faucet
  • Damaged floors

Negotiation Tactics

If you don’t have the money to cover major repairs and it impacts your home’s perceived value, be prepared to compromise. 

There are two tried and true ways to do this: 

  1. Credit the buyer the amount for the repair, reducing the cost of your home. 
  2. Lock in the sale, including the added cost of the home upgrade. This reimburses you and allows the buyer to pay the repair cost over time along with their mortgage.

By offering credit early in the game, you don’t lose money for repair costs in case the buyer walks away. At the same time, you don’t lose the buyer by giving them an outright “no” regarding the repair issue. If the buyer is insistent on a renovation that isn’t necessary, an agreement to include the renovation costs in a binding contract ensures your investment. 

Overall, a buyer’s home inspection is not an open invitation to force you to fix your home, though it is used in that way frequently. Before you decide on potentially requested home repairs, consult your real estate agent and make decisions wisely.

 

 

Sources and further reading: