Chris Eller ) wrote:

: Are there things I should especially keep an eye peeled for during the
: inspection?

Oh, there are lots of things I wish I'd done differently at my home
inspection...

Stay right by the inspectors shoulder. Do not let anyone distract
you. Bring a partner (you mentioned a wife?) whose job is to head off
people who want to talk to you. I ended up chatting with my real
estate agent and the seller's real estate agent and the seller, and
missed a lot of stuff.

Bring a video camera and videotape everything. My inspector said a
lot of things like, "this will need to be tightened", and when the
whole thing was done, I couldn't remember whether that was in the 2nd
floor bath or the 3rd floor bath. My inspector told me that he'd
write up the inspection and give me a whole binder. What I got was a
one page statement of the major findings, and a pre-printed, "How to
maintain your new home" booklet, in a binder.

Follow the inspector everywhere. That means up ladders to the roof,
and into crawl spaces. Wear appropriate clothes, and bring a
flashlight. If the inspector pokes his or her head into an access
panel, then you poke your head in. I was a little nervous about
climbing and squeamish about crawl spaces then, but I've since gotten
used to both. I wish I'd followed the inspector around.

Make sure that you and the inspector look at the attic, crawl spaces,
and everywhere. If you can't figure out how to get access to a space,
ask. Buckets or trash cans in the attic often mean leaks in the roof.

It may be too late, but don't use an inspector recommended by your
real estate agent. My real estate agent did a great job for me, and I
sincerely recommend him to my friends, but inspectors who get
recommended by agents try not to alarm the customer, since that may
break the deal. Some new home buyers over-react to every flaw. It's
not like buying a new microwave from the store, where if there are any
imperfections you exchange it for "a good one". You don't want a home
with no problems - you want a home whose problems you know and can
either accept or can afford to fix (both time and money). You want an
inspector who will give you the straight dope.

Ask lots of questions. This is a great opportunity to learn what all
the gizmos do. Someday you'll need to find the cut-off valve for the
2nd floor rear bathroom *fast*, and you'll be glad that you know where
it is.

Keep in mind that furniture and rugs may be hiding damaged walls or
floors. I don't think you can do much at the inspection (you can't
really ask people to move every book case and rug), but make sure that
at the final walk through the place is *empty*. The people I bought
my house from had a couple of cardboard boxes with the last load of
stuff they were moving. After closing, I found large burn marks on
the floor that had been hidden by the boxes, and had been hidden by
rugs during the inspection.

Good luck!

--- Chip