Home buyer/seller myth #5

Home buyer myth #5
"I don't need to pay $325 for a professional home inspection. My uncle Charlie has had 5 houses built and knows everything about house. He'll look it over for me."
First of all, very few real estate offices, if any will accept a report from anyone other than a licensed home inspector.
Next, licensed home inspectors have a check list of systems, roofing components, appliances, drainage, potential safety hazards, etc., etc.
If you can't afford a few h...undred dollars for your inspection, you probably don't need to be buying a home.
"But I'm buying a 1 year home buyer's warranty, so I don't need an inspection." Well, guess what? If you call in a claim on a pre existing condition, the warranty will not pay. Nor will it pay for drainage problems, cracked plumbing boots and a thousand different things.
Now, don't get me wrong, inspections are not a warranty, but they tell you the condition of the property on that day. So, let's say something goes wrong with the HVAC system 6 months after you move in. You have the inspection to prove that the condition was not pre existing.
Something else needs to be said here. A home inspector is obligated to report what he sees. This does not mean that , if you are buying a house that is 40 years old and you are paying $76 per square foot, the seller needs to make it new. Not at all, if you want a new house, than you'd pay almost twice that much. For instance: My personal home was built in 1952. There are not gfci circuits every where that they are required in new homes. Now, if I were selling my home, would I replace all these circuits? Absolutely not! But the home inspection would note it. My a/c is not up to the new energy standards, and it uses the old freon. Would I spend $5000 to change it out? No! So a little common sense needs to be exercised. It is up to your Realtor to help you with the repair request.
Listen to your Realtor. They do this for a living. I don't care how smart Uncle Charlie is, he is not a real estate professional.
One more thing, there are some inspectors, ( none of my fb friends), that don't know how to word things. I once saw a report that said "There is a large gap between the siding and brick". The buyer was freaking, thinking "foundation issues". When I found the spot referred to on the report, all it needed was a bead of caulk. Over the years the caulk had dried and needed to be replaced. The repair took 10 minutes. Anyway, you get the point.
Thanks for reading my rants! Steve Houck