Whether you own an old home or a brand new one, there are a
number of things that can fall short of requirements during
a home inspection. The home inspectors in Utah County are
very fussy. In my estimate, I think about 75% of Utah County
buyers are requesting home inspections before buying a home.
If you wait until the home inspector flags these issues for
you, you will almost certainly experience costly delays in
the close of your home sale or, worse, turn prospective
buyers away altogether. In most cases, you can make a
reasonable pre-inspection yourself if you know what you're
looking for.
And knowing what you're looking for can help you prevent
little problems from growing into costly and unmanageable
ones. There are certain problems that seem to come up time
after time, especially if “Bob homeowner” or his dad or
sister has been doing the repairs. Here are some typical
repairs I see on inspection reports:
Faulty Wiring - Amateur
installations can create a real safety hazard. I see
ungrounded outlets with three-hole receptacles and multiple
outlets with reverse polarity. This kind of work shows it
was done by someone who didn’t know what he/she was doing.
It seems the weekend handyman has been busy. These are
simple repairs, but what else has been done wrong? Let's
hope nothing has been buried in the wall. A look in the
electrical panel often reveals improperly sized wires or
circuit breakers. Exposed splices and loose wires are
commonly found in attics, garages, crawlspaces and
basements.
Outdated Fuse Panels
- A lot of older homes in Utah
County still have the original fuse panels in use. These are
generally outdated by today's standards. Times have changed,
and we tend to use a lot more electricity with the addition
of computers, home entertainment centers, and all the
kitchen and bathroom appliances. Most of the time, to keep
the fuses from blowing out with common use, people will just
put in a larger amp fuse. It is not uncommon to find 30 amp
fuses throughout the fuse panel. The problem with this is
that the wire size is too small to handle the new amperage
and will overheat before the fuse will blow, creating a fire
hazard. Electrical and wiring problems are the most common
problems I see on homes. I have seen many buyers start
walking away from a sale because of wiring problems. Team
Teasdale has a full-time handyman repair specialist on their
team. His name is Mike Teasdale. He has over 30 years of
full-time experience as an electrician. He has successfully
repaired many wiring problems for our Team.
On inspection day
It's best if you attend the inspection yourself. Inspectors
report all defects they find, no matter how minor. Home
buyers sometimes get excited about minor problems simply
because they don't have an understanding of what's really
wrong. Witnessing problems first-hand will give you a better
grasp of what is and is not an issue. I will only work with
Inspectors that do a walk-thru with my buyers before they
leave the subject property. I want the inspector to
personally explain the problems in person.
Pass Your Home
Inspection Part II