Qualified Home Inspectors

I highly recommend that a home inspection be done BEFORE listing your home for sale.

It's only been 10 years since home inspections became a part of real estate transactions but now virtually all residential offers include this critical condition. However, the buyer does have choice, and if they cross out this clause before presenting the offer, they risk possibly finding deficiencies after the closing. Some of my buyers have a friend or relative who knows construction and will have them look at the plumbing and electrical but I always suggest a qualified home inspector in all my residential sales. I always put this clause in all my offers. It's actually helped save lives. Case in point: In June of this year, I sold an 18-year-old home to a young couple with a child due in late fall. We knew the windows were the originals but in good shape. The previous owners had very tastefully decorated the home and finished the basement part like a bar, real beer taps and all. Everything looked great until it was time to check the last thing - the furnace. And there it was!!!! The home inspector said the furnace had a cracked heat exchanger and gas could possibly be leaking. I immediately called the listing agent, and she in turn called the owner. He came back to the house right away and called a licensed gas-fitter who installs forced-air gas furnaces.

At this point most deals would have fallen through but not this one. The buyer got a new high-efficiency furnace installed with a 10-year warranty for $1,000.00, which was added to the agreed-to purchase price. Not only was the problem solved, and very economically, but peace of mind was restored.

When you're having your furnace inspected (once a year is highly recommended), should the installer find a leaky heat exchanger, he will immediately turn it off, regardless of the weather. By law, he MUST do this. Most furnace manufacturers offer a lifetime heat exchanger warranty. All you would pay is the labour to remove and install a new heat exchanger.

Had my buyers not had a qualified home inspector who I know and trust, AND if the cracked heat exchanger had not been discovered, lives could have been lost should there have been an explosion in the home.

Here is another situation that illustrates the point. A number of years ago, I sold a very expensive, brand new, custom-built home to some special friends. Everything was fine until we lifted the hatch to the attic. There was not an ounce of insulation inside. Nothing at all. I made sure within hours, all the necessary insulation was blown in. Think of what it would be like to be in that home when the first winter cold snap hit.

Getting a qualified home inspector you can trust is paramount. Every home, no matter how old or new, should have an inspection. It could save you tens of thousands of dollars. Spend that $350.00 (approximately) and it will be money well spent or well saved. Either way you look at it, inspections are a necessity for living in a comfortable and safe home environment.