SEVEN THINGS
BUY & HOLD
Upon Further Inspection EVALUATING A POTENTIAL INVESTMENT PROPERTY WITH AN INSPECTOR’S EYE CAN SAVE YOU FROM COSTLY REPAIRS.
by Teresa Bitler
1 THERE’S A NATURAL tendency for in- vestors to think more like home appraisers than home inspectors when evaluating a property, and it makes sense—you need to know how much you can expect to sell for when the time comes. But you can miss issues that affect your bottom line when you don’t think like a home inspector. These seven tips can get you in the right mind-set and potentially save you thousands of dollars in costly repairs after you make your purchase. FORGET VALUE A home inspector’s primary function is to consider the safety and condition of a home, its components and its systems. How much a home is worth doesn’t factor into that. In fact, in many juris- dictions, home inspectors are prohibited from commenting on value.
2 the purchase altogether. EXAMINE AND EVALUATE, IN DEPTH Home inspections are visual, for the most part. A home inspector will eval- uate only what he or she can see, which means the inspection report won’t cover items like the septic tank, sewer lines or concealed pipes. Home inspections are also “not technically exhaustive,” as Mike Mullins, who owns a Pillar to Post Home Inspectors franchise in Texas, explains. There are components that aren’t covered by an inspection, including timing sys- tems, central vacuum systems, swim- ming pools and spas. But what he does, he does in depth. A good home inspector doesn’t just turn on the bathroom sink to make sure it runs. He checks that it doesn’t drip or leak
“We don’t have anything to do with the value of a home,” says home inspector Welmoed Sisson, who co-owns Mary- land-based Inspections by Bob. “We are there to report on the condition of the home and whether it is safe and the systems are in good working order.” However, she adds, a home inspector’s job is to uncover issues that could be ex- pensive fixes, such as “bad roofs, ancient heating systems, old wiring and buried oil tanks.” Those costly repairs can defi- nitely impact an investor’s bottom line. In other words, to think like a home inspector, you actually want to find what’s wrong with the house that might detract from your bottom line, not look for its selling points. After all, finding these issues before you purchase puts you in a position to negotiate for a price reduction, request repairs or reconsider
98 | think realty magazine july :: august 2016
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