Learn & Earn / Home Inspection / Next Topic
Home Maintenance First time home buyers, eyes wide open, can learn so much from the home inspection about the proper ways to maintain their new home just by attending the home inspection. Good home inspectors consider themselves part educators and they love to show off their knowledge and help the home buyers protect their interest in their new homes. Of course, they also hope to impress you enough to get you to call them again when you are ready to trade up!  Home buyers can learn more about home maintenance by listening, asking questions, and taking good notes. Ask the inspector about anything you see that looks like a problem -- it may reveal something that is helpful to the inspection process. Ask inspectors about ballpark figures to fix items that need repair. They generally hate to give figures because, after you have one or more items repaired, you learn that sometimes it is hard to predict until a repair is underway how much it will really cost in parts and labor. Lastly, read the inspector's report and analyze the findings and don't be afraid to call the inspector about anything you don't understand.
Prioritize the home inspector's findings by taking care of any safety items (or more likely, having the seller address them), and choosing a logical order to follow up on problems. Simple things like adding more insulation can be done by the homeowner. Upgrading the electrical service demands the attention of a qualified electrician. A failed heating system will require almost immediate attention in our cold weather climate. Need tips on fix-up? Try Jim Dulley's site at www.dulley.com or ServiceMaster's AllAboutHome www.allabouthome.com |
