There are two important inspections when buying a home: your personal inspection and a professional inspection. The personal inspection should involve the things you see, how the home feels to you, the location and orientation of the home. The professional inspection should include examination of the structural, mechanical and electrical systems within the house.

The most important thing to remember during your own personal inspection is to take time to look at the details of the house. While this may sound obvious, you should make notes of such things as cracks, smells, the quality of paint and materials throughout the home, ceiling stains, rotting or damaged siding, landscaping, etc. This will not only help you direct the professional inspector to problem areas you have noticed for further inspection, but can also be helpful in understanding points presented or explained by the professional inspector.

When touring a property, ask yourself how the home feels. When you walk in the front door, do you feel good and excited about walking in further or do you feel restrained, constricted or shutoff? Does the home feel like it can coincide with your family life and entertaining style? Is there enough storage and closet space? Will the bedrooms work with your furniture or your plans for furniture? How does the kitchen work with your cooking style, storage, and entertaining needs? It is important to keep in mind the functionality of the house as well as its appearance.

The physical location of the home is extremely important too. Is the home within an acceptable distance to work, school, shopping conveniences and/or places of worship? Is the home located in a neighborhood you would feel reasonably comfortable in? Is the home located on an acceptable lot and lot size? Does the home back up to or is immediately across from establishments, eye sores or potential health hazards which will make the home difficult to sell in the future for a reasonable price and in a reasonable amount of time?

The second critical inspection is the professional home inspection. It is important for you to be at the property during the time of inspection. If you are not there and simply read the report cold, an inspection report can appear pretty scary. If you are there during the inspection, you can get questions answered along the way, the inspector can explain the severity or lack thereof of issues he or she plans to put on the report, and you will have a better understanding of the overall condition of the home the true purpose of the inspection. Dont let the inspection report frighten or upset you because every home will have something to write up, but view it as an important evaluation tool. Even if the home is a brand new home, it is important to have a full home inspection. Most buyers feel that if the home is new, there should be no need for an inspection -- I disagree. I have worked with some buyers who did not have an inspection of their new home who have had complaints about their appliances not working or working properly, frustrations with wiring or electrical problems, or even have had some sort of structural issues or problems within the first year of occupancy. I have worked with a few sellers who bought the home they are selling brand new and within a reasonably short period of time of occupancy, their circumstances warranted them having to move. While trying to sell their young home, those sellers prospective buyers have had inspections performed which revealed certain inspection code violations or other problems which those sellers felt should not have been present in such a new home. Many of these new home situations might have been avoided had they had an inspection of their newly completed home, or better still, multiple inspections throughout the building process (foundation, framing and other stages of the building).

Each type of inspection (personal and professional) is an important step in the home purchase process. Take care in getting professional opinions for what most likely will be your most important and expensive purchase in your life. Further, remember when buying a home, view and evaluate it as a purchase you will at some point be selling. Good luck!

PLEASE NOTE: This information is not intended to be legal advice. Your licensed real estate agent cannot give you legal advice. If you have any questions about your legal rights or obligations, you should consult with an attorney.