The Importance of Home Inspections When Buying

For Buyers Only Real Estate Video Blog with Sharon Stevens

Home inspections are one of the most important aspects of buying a home, and here in Florida, there are plenty of inspections you can get to give you peace of mind.

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Today we wanted to take a moment to address the topic of home inspections: why we need them and what goes on during one. Joining me to explain is BJ Johnson, one of our preferred inspectors from Inside & Out Property Inspectors.

You want an inspector that has a builder’s background or some kind of construction experience. This lets you know that they have an idea what’s going on behind the walls. There’s no perfect house, so the knowledge helps.

There’s no shortage of the kind of inspections you can get, like a WDO, or wood destroying organism inspection. This kind of inspection even requires a special license and looks for things like wood decay and termites. Water can cause this decay as well. A wind mitigation report is another type of inspection, and it’s probably the only inspection that helps reduce your homeowners insurance.

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There’s no shortage of the kind of inspections you can get.

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If the home is 30 years or more old, you’ll generally be required to get a four-point inspection by the insurance company to determine whether you’re insurable.

Inspectors also have a special set of tools they’ll use during an inspection, like a FLIR camera. This is an infrared camera that takes thermal images and helps buyers find potential issues in a home with moisture, insulation, or covered up heating ducts that people can’t see. In fact, BJ found a heating duct that was incorrectly covered up by the sheetrock guys with this tool in the house we’re currently standing in.

When the inspector is done, they give you a complete report that the buyer can look over.

If you have any questions about the inspection process or you need to hire an inspector, you can call Inside & Out Property Inspectors at 904-395-1900 or visit their website.

In the meantime, you can always give us a call or send us an email if you’re thinking about buying a home in the St. Augustine area. We look forward to helping you!