Home Inspections

So you're under contract on a home in Charleston and you're not sure if the house is in 'good shape'.  All buyers, no matter where they are buying should pay a professional home inspector to inspect their prospective home even if it is a new construction home. The fact is it's probably the largest purchase you'll make in your lifetime. Most lay people don't know how to properly 'kick the tires' on a home.  There's certainly a lot more involved than buying a car.  

There are many people out there that call themselves home inspectors.  Perhaps your realtor can give you a list of names for you to research.  They usually give you a price based on the size, square footage of the home, whether it's on a slab or a crawl space etc. and the age of the structure.  They should inspect the home from the roof down to the foundation and everything in between.

Most home inspectors don't mind the prospective new home owner following them from room to room during the inspection.  You may want to 'pass' on the crawl space inspection.  The inspector should take plenty of pictures to be able to support their findings.

After the inspection they will give you a list of items that may need repair, replacing or items to just 'keep an eye on'.

Your realtor will go over the list with you and request certain items to be repaired or replaced by the seller.  

The perfect scenario is when the seller and the buyer are both satisfied with the agreement outcome.

The last thing to do is have the items re-inspected after the repairs have been made.

I'm Donna Andreano, Realtor at AgentOwned and you can contact me at 843-256-3348, email me at donna.andreano@agentownedrealty.com or visit my website at yourhomeincharleston.com

I look forward to hearing from you and satisfying your home buying needs!