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Do You Need A New Home Inspection Report If The Seller Already Has One?

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As you search to purchase a home you may come across a seller who has already had a home inspection completed. Possibly this was done as a pre-listing inspection or a previous buyer had an inspection completed and then the deal fell through. Either way, this could possibly be a big benefit for you and might mean you don’t have to shell out for a home inspection. However, before you get too excited, here’s what you need to know before deciding you don’t need to get your own home inspection.

Do you have access to the inspection report?

Access to the home inspection report is only given to the one who paid for it. This means if an inspection was completed by a previous purchaser, the seller won’t have access to the report and therefore can’t give you access. Unless somehow the buyer gave the seller a copy of the report, possibly in an effort to make negotiations. Even if they do, your lender is going to require a home inspection. You will need to find out if a second-hand home inspection report would be acceptable to your lender and home insurer.

When was the home inspection completed?

For a house that has been sitting on the market for a while, a seller may use a pre-listing home inspection as motivation for buyers. It’s one less thing a buyer has to pay for! Which sounds great, but you want to make sure the home inspection was done recently. Any home inspection report older than 90 days would not be as reliable. In fact, the most ideal report would have completed within 30 to 60 days. You also want to read the report thoroughly. Just because it was done doesn’t mean the inspector didn’t find any major issues. Some sellers believe just by knowing the issues a buyer would feel comfortable purchasing the house. But major issues should always be a major concern, no matter what the situation.

Who was the home inspection completed by?

You will want to research who completed the inspection report and decide for yourself if you feel they are a reliable company. If you are not familiar with a home inspection report then you may not know what to look for or how to read it. There are two things you need to do if you would like to depend on the home inspection report offered by the seller. First, find out who the home inspector or company was and give them a call. Do your due diligence to make sure they are a credible resource and a dependable, insured company. Second, ask the home inspector if they would review the home inspection report with you. They should be able to talk you through their findings and educate you about the house, including any concerns.

What is the home inspector’s policy?

Some home inspectors are not willing to honor the report if you did not order and pay for it yourself. You may also want to ask them if there are any warranties offered by the company that would be valid or invalid based on the transaction of the report. In this case, any findings or claims can be made by the homeowner only (the seller) and not the buyers. This does you absolutely no good if you run into an issue with the house, especially if it’s an issue with something expensive. Plumbing, electrical, or the roof is just examples of very important areas that need to be inspected thoroughly. If the report claims everything is fine and you find out something is wrong you may have a hard time holding the inspector or the seller responsible.

Ask your agent for their opinion

Your agent is seasoned and familiar. Ask them for their opinion! They can advise you on whether they think it’s a good idea to use the inspection report provided or order your own. Your agent will consider factors such as the seller’s history, age of the house, and other things you may not know to consider. Always use the resources you have around you when you can.

Divinity Inspection Services offers pre-listing home inspections. These inspections are specifically for a seller that wants to know more about their home before they sell it and also want to use the report as an incentive for buyers. A pre-listing inspection can also give the seller a heads up on anything that needs to be fix that might hinder a sale before they put their house on the market. Learn more schedule your home inspection now!

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How To Prevent Flooding In Your House

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We thought the rainy season was over, but we were wrong! Tampa is still in for quite a bit more, and already it seems we have a pretty active hurricane season. If you haven’t already noticed the flooding all over the area, you certainly will soon. Here are a few things you can do to prevent flooding in your house.

Elevate your important things in the garage

If flooding occurs around your home, likely the first place the water will get into is your garage. Even if your garage is unorganized, get the important things off the ground.If water does enter, at the very least, you won’t have to worry about anything important getting ruined.

Keep sandbags on hand

If water is already at your door then you may have lost the battle. However, if you’ve noticed an influx in the rain and a potential for flooding, having sandbags on hand can make all the difference. Before the rain, put the sandbags out around the house where the flooding would occur.

Dig a trench

This is certainly going the extra mile but might be necessary. If you find your yard is completely saturated and more rain is headed your way, a trench would help your lawn drain and could prevent flooding into your home.

Depending on how much rain and the potential for flooding, extreme action could be necessary. The idea is to prevent flooding in your home from happening instead of having to deal with the after-damage. Don’t forget that during our home inspections we’ll be able to tell you if the house has had any flood damage.

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All the Reasons Why You Need a Home Inspector

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Why Should You Have A Pre Listing Home Inspection?

Recently we were hired to inspect a home that was under contract for purchase. The buyers were first time home owners and came to use through a referral. After discussing what they needed and setting a day and time, we met at the home for their inspection. When I arrived I realized the home had a sea wall because it sat on a canal. While the new buyers told us the home was on a canal, they did not mention they had a sea wall. How could they? They didn’t even know! I explained to them the importance of having the sea wall inspected, even though there was a small additional cost. They agreed and the inspection ensued.

Upon inspection of this sea wall we found some major foundation cracks. These are the kind of issues you don’t want to find out about after you’ve purchased a home. This kind of repair has a heft price tag associated with it. We walked the new buyers through the inspection, explained everything as we always do, and gave them the details on everything about the home.

Since the home owner chose not to have a pre-listing home inspection done, they also did not know there were existing issues with the sea wall. The new buyers now had to re-negotiate the sale of the house based on this finding.

I know what you’re thinking. “This is why I don’t want a home inspection. A home inspector could kill the dream of buying our dream home! It could kill the dream of selling my house!”. If that is what you are thinking, you couldn’t be more wrong. Our goal is most certainly not to “kill” any home purchasing deal. However, if we hadn’t found the issues then the new home owners could have very quickly found themselves is a financially difficult situation. And while having to re-negotiate the sale of the home, it certainly doesn’t mean the deal is dead. On that same note, had the owner done a pre-listing inspection on the home they would have known about the issue and could have accounted for it before putting their home on the market for sale.

This story is only one of many that we experience every week. New home owners move into a home without having it inspected only to find they’ve walked into expensive necessary repairs. We have no authority to enforce standards but rather to merely point out conditions as they exist and make recommendations.

We would recommend repair to minor grouting in the shower stall just as we would for a leaking roof. Our goal is to help our clients distinguish between the significant needs of the home and those that are more commonplace. Click here to schedule your home inspection today!
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Verify Your Contractors

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Many times a good home inspector will run into an all-too familiar problem. It starts out like every other inspection, checking for important home characteristics, installations, foundation, etc. But then it happens – a clear indicator of unverified (or just really bad) contractors. The problem could consists of bad electrical wiring, incorrect installation of a toilet, a wrong size drip pan in the a/c unit, and the list goes on and on. So let this article be a warning, for any work that needs to be done around the house don’t skimp by using the first (or the cheapest) contractor you can find. At the end of the day, and down the road, you will absolutely regret the decision to hire an unverified contractor. Here are some steps to ensure you get both a fairly priced contractor and a trustworthy contractor.

Use Referrals

Someone almost always knows someone they can refer for contract work. Asking around is a great place to start – but it shouldn’t be where you end. A person referring a business, company, or individual may have the best intentions in doing so but referrals are not guaranteed so you still need to take the extra time to check them out.

Read the Online Reviews

Real feedback from real people should be a deciding factor in hiring a contractor. Most businesses have online reviews from Google, Yelp, or another platform where you can easily and freely see what other people have to say about their service. While the commonly known fact that people are more apt to voice their opinion when they’re unhappy vs. when they are happy, you should still utilize the information. Chances are high the reviews are going to tell you something about the business you are considering.

Call Around

Tampa is saturated with contractors. From handymen to large companies, you have a plethora of choices. So why wouldn’t you call around? Ask about pricing, check out how they deal with you on the phone, and get all of your questions answered. If you run into an issue with a company’s service down the line, more than likely the way you are treated when you call is how you will be treated in the future, so don’t wait until you’ve hired them to find out.

At Divinity Inspection Service we offer a vendor list to any customer upon request. We know, like, and trust our vendors which is why we refer them. You can also trust that they have been verified by us. No matter which vendor or contractor you decide to hire, now or in the future, make sure you verify them first.