Spring is in the air, the flowers are about to start blooming and the Charlotte real estate market is already booming! A lot of homes I’ve inspected lately have gone under contract the first day they were on the market, and many of them had multiple offers. Huntersville, Mooresville, Concord and Charlotte are all rocking!
This post is going to be about the best Charlotte Home Inspectors and how to find them. There are a lot of good inspectors in our area. The trick is, knowing the right questions to ask to insure you find a stud inspector instead of a dud inspector 😉
I want to go over five common mistakes that folks make when trying to find a home inspector in Charlotte, NC. In the next post I’ll discuss the five questions you should always ask your inspector before hiring them, but for now let’s just talk about the biggest mistakes people can make when trying to find the best home inspector.
Mistake #1 – Choosing an inspector because they’re cheaper is not a good way to find an inspector. FACT – NOT ALL HOME INSPECTORS ARE CREATED EQUAL! Some inspectors are simply more knowledgeable and have more experience than other inspectors. Some inspectors have a better understanding of how all the different systems in a home work, and this allows them to instinctually know where to look for problems. Buying a home is one of the largest investments of your life. Make sure that whoever your choose to inspect your house is the best one for the job… And that’s usually not the cheapest one.
Mistake #2 – I love Realtors and I think there are some awesome ones out there! If it wasn’t for them looking after our interest, we could make some really bad choices when choosing a home. With that said, I think it’s best for folks to have their Realtors refer them several inspectors and then after researching and interviewing them make their own decision about who to hire. I mean, I’d love it if my Realtors only referred Howdy Home Inspections to their clients, but I think people should have options and I feel confident that my qualifications and experience speak for themselves when folks are considering me as their inspector. If a buyer interviews me, and ends up choosing another inspector, I’m OK with that. I honestly believe people should do what they think is best, and the fact is, there are several other great inspectors in area. Oh yeah, when interviewing an inspector always ask about licensing, any certifications they have and what kind of insurance they carry. Also make sure that the inspector you choose has actually swung a hammer and could at the minimum build a birdhouse 😉
Mistake #3 – Not hiring a home inspector for new construction is one of the biggest mistakes a homebuyer can make. Most people think that since they’re buying a new house and the building inspector as signed off on the construction, everything must be perfect. Let me tell you, this is 100% not the case! While a licensed general contractor is the one “building” the house, he is not the one framing it up. That work is done by $9.00 an hour unskilled laborers. I was just in newer house where an entire addition of the house was tied into the existing framing by toe-nailed roof rafters. They didn’t use hangers, a ledger or any kind of support. All they used were two sixteen-penny nails. I mean you can’t even build a deck like that! Who would think that’s OK for an entire addition? Did they even consider how much a roof system weighs? That whole addition could come crashing down during the first big windstorm or snowstorm. That’s scary stuff. All I have to say is if you’re buying new construction, PLEASE get it inspected. Your inspector might find a problem that could potentially save you and your family’s life!
Mistake #4 – Not tagging along for the inspection. I encourage all buyers to tag along for the inspection so they can understand the significance of each item I list in the inspection report. I want all buyers to place the most emphasis on the most important items when negotiating for repairs. A crack in the heat exchanger is a much more dangerous problem than a crack in the driveway that’s a tripping hazard. When you tag along on your inspection your inspector should be explaining to you what they’re finding and the significance of each item.
Mistake #5 – Not following your inspector’s advice for further evaluation of a system before closing is a common mistake that can cost homebuyers thousands of dollars. If your home inspector mentions in the report that he/she recommends further evaluation by a specialist, then that item should be evaluated by the specialist BEFORE closing. A lot of times, folks wait until after closing before hiring that electrician or HVAC contractor. Any costs incurred by these evaluations are now the responsibility of the new homeowner because they happened after closing. Just remember, if an inspector says to have something evaluated, it’s best to have it done because something about that system is suspicious in the inspectors mind.
So that’s it. Those are five of the biggest mistake homebuyers make when trying to find the best Charlotte home inspectors. In the next post I’m going to talk about different questions you should ask your inspector before hiring them. Hold on tight because it’s gonna be a nail biter 😉
Until next time
Be Happy and Be Kind,
T.J. Thorne
