NOTE: This is a migrated entry.
So at the behest of my agent, we went ahead and decided to proceed with the home inspection in anticipation of everything getting resolved with the financing and credit issues. Again, this is my first time doing this, however it seems pretty sensible: guy's essentially going to "audit" the house and write up a report of recommended actions, some which might be deal breakers, others not so much. No big deal.
For those in San Diego, I really do recommend San Diego Home Inspection, Mark West. He got it done in a few hours and issued a report right away, complete with pictures ( I was trapped at work and unable to go in person ).
The majority of the issues I had already noticed during the first tour of the home. Almost all of the window screens were bent, torn or falling off; the carpet was ruddy and needed to be replaced; the paint was not even; the attic panel was missing, etc etc. There were some other items though that I had not noticed, all having to do with the garage. First, there was some exposed power outlet cabling leading up to the ceiling in the garage. Not sure how I missed that one, but I can always do some conduit piping to take care of that. Next, there were a couple of holes between the living area and the garage itself. Not only is this just asking to suffocate from carbon monoxide, it's also not in compliance with building code. It really surprised me, considering so many other things had been recently re-done on the house. Lastly, the ventilation system (not the A/C, just general ventilation) appeared to have been neglected, which might cause issues in the garage.
I can imagine myself taking a quick trip down to Home Depot to pick up stuff for fixing the issues. In fact I was going to get some Mighty Putty to patch the holes in the walls and sand/paint over it. Of course, I have to wait until the financing sorts itself out. For the record, closing is tentatively scheduled for July 30th with a final deadline of August 21st (I think). However, my current lease expires August 2nd with an anticipated move out of July 26th or thereabouts. Needless to say, I'm eager to get everything sorted out.
Moral of the Story: If you're buying a home, get a home inspection. It's enlightening. It's empowering. It's good to have someone else do the work figuring out what's wrong with your home. Also, if something is screwed up that wasn't reported, you have leave to sue the inspector if they should have reasonably identified the issue at the time of inspection - slab damage, for example. Too many people are going without inspections because they're star struck on the home, or they have uncle Joe or the guy around the corner who claims to be an inspector, so they can save a few bucks. $325 is what I paid, and that's not too much to ask for a job well done.
