Why have a home inspection?

"I'm not sure why I'm doing this but my agent says it is a good idea so that is why I'm calling for a home inspection"

All homes have secrets that even the owner is unaware of, these secret can occur for many different reasons,one that happens when the home owner has a simple repair done. I was inspecting a manufactured home the other day and came across insulation and the belly board under the unit had not been reattached after what looked to be a repair of some sort. This is not a large issue in its self but could lead to a much larger and expensive issue if not taken care of in a timely manner. This missing insulation will allow heat and cold to escape the home, (at today's energy prices could be significant). The missing belly board can allow vermin to enter the area and could lead to other damage such as wire being damaged by vermin chewing on them, insects or mice easy access to the home and many other issues that can arise. This one small issue that was pointed out may prevent many other much larger issues from happening if repaired. We (Home Inspectors) see these types of what many think of as nit picking issues and report on them to prevent the larger issues that can occur.

The home is a series of systems that must work together in concert. When a system is disturbed or not functioning as intended that is when it can start a domino effect and systems start failing or not working as intended and can cause much larger issues that can lead to major costs or health and safety issues.

So to answer the question "why have a home inspection." It is simple, in my opinion it may be the best money you can invest to find out what is going on with the property that you are about to buy. A complete thourough home inspection typically runs between 17-27 cents a square foot (general estimate) and today homes are selling for as low as under $100.00 a Sq. Ft. in some cases and as high as you are willing to pay depending on area, age, type and many other factors. In my opinion the math is simple. Most of us would be willing to pay a mechanic $100-$150 to look at a used car and tell us all of it's issues before making a 7-15K purchase but struggle with investing a much lower amount per total investment on your home. In the end it is the consumers dice to roll and I wish those who go at blind, good luck and may the force be with you.