When is a swimming pool not so cool? When it is in the middle of Montrose Avenue in the middle of winter.
That was the case a week ago Tuesday when a 100-year-old water main ruptured at about 1 in the morning, leaving a gaping 80 foot wide chasm some 15 feet deep filled with water that swamped the basements of nearby businesses and homes.
With more than 4,200 miles of pipes beneath the city, there's no way this infrastructural break down could have been detected early. But still I shook my head as I drove by the barricade at the intersection of Montrose and Ashland on my way to a home inspection of one of my new construction listings in Bucktown and thought how important it is for home buyers to have their new homes inspected.
The whole point behind a home inspection is early detection. You've submitted a contract to purchase a home but before the deal "goes solid," you have it inspected to make sure that the home doesn't have any defects that you didn't see when you were busy falling in love with the home.
For most of us, purchasing a home is our largest investment. Even if it's not, none of us want to buy a lemon. And to make sure we don't, we hire professionals to do what a pair of inspectors from
Inspectrum did for the buyers of my listing as they poked, prodded, and pored over the interior and exterior of the home's four levels for three hours this afternoon.
At the end of the session, having checked out plumbing, electric, tuck-pointing and appliances (to name a few), they produced a short list of minor things to be remedied and provided the buyers with peace of mind that they were buying a quality home.
According to
Inspectrum the point of the inspection is:
to provide the purchaser with a better understanding of the physical condition of the home in order that they can make a well-informed decision.
With respect to inspection logistics - it is the buyers' responsibility to find an inspector and pay his fee. Inspections typically take place shortly after a contract is executed during attorney review (which usually runs five to seven business days in Chicago). Often a contract "goes solid" after the inspection is conducted and nothing of consequence is detected. (As was the case today.) In instances where something significant is detected, like when the inspector for my buyers Jim and Dan found loads of mold in the attic and crawlspace of the home, we "pull the plug" on a deal.
Unlike the miles and miles of Chicago's underground water mains a single family home or condo is much easier to inspect. Again, the point is to ensure the worthiness of the purchase. You don't want to buy a lemon. With so many inspectors out there it is important for home buyers to get recommendations and to follow their gut. For my money the best resource available is Steve Hier of
Miller-Hier. He can be reached at (773) 342-4722.
Comments(0)