One of the most important aspects of the home-buying process is the inspection. Buying a home is a huge financial transaction and an enormous investment for buyers, and the inspection is the buyer’s chance to find out if the property has any major problems. So the inspection report becomes a major negotiating tool. It is the buyer’s responsibility to hire the inspector and set up the inspection. To do it right, though, you need to follow an established procedure, as well following certain unwritten rules of etiquette. So let’s see how to schedule a home inspection in Garner.
Standard Procedure to Schedule a Home Inspection
There is no shortage of guidelines about home inspections and a great deal of variance among them. But, in general, real estate experts recommend the following steps to schedule a home inspection in Garner with the best results:
SCHEDULE EARLY
Generally, it’s best to schedule a home inspection as early in the buying process as possible because this will give you plenty of time to conduct negotiations. The purchase price isn’t set in stone till closing, so the best time to schedule is right after your offer has been accepted.
ASK YOUR AGENT FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
A good agent knows the best professionals in the real estate arena in your area, so be sure to ask for her recommendations about inspectors when you get ready to schedule. (Discover more by calling (919) 772-1222.) Request two or three names and then do some research and interviewing.
DETERMINE AVAILABILITY, PROCESS, AND PRICE
In conducting your home inspector research, you will first want to find out about an inspector’s availability to determine whether she can conduct an inspection when you need it. You’ll also want to find out about her process and how much she charges. Inspections generally run around $350.
SET THE DATE
Once you’ve settled on an inspector that best meets your needs, it’s time to schedule an appointment for the inspection. Just make sure you schedule at a time when the inspector won’t be rushed so that the inspection will be thorough. Home inspections typically take two to three hour when done right.
Rules of Etiquette to Schedule a Home Inspection
In addition to the scheduling steps, there are some assumed rules of etiquette that, when followed, will make the whole process smoother, more efficient, and more effective. Time is always a factor in any real estate transaction, so efficiency is always an issue as well. Here are some of the things you should do, then, to schedule a home inspection in Garner:
GET PRE-APPROVED
Make sure you go into the inspection process with your mortgage pre-approval in hand. Nothing is more frustrating to all parties concerned than having a buyer cancel at the last minute because her loan didn’t go through. Inspectors are busy, too, and they want to be assured that the inspection appointment won’t fall through.
ENSURE MUTUAL OFFER ACCEPTANCE
Further, you shouldn’t schedule an inspection until the seller has accepted your offer in writing.
PROVIDE COMPLETE INFORMATION
As we mentioned, inspectors are busy, and their time is valuable, so make every effort to provide the inspector with complete information. They need to know, for example, the address, age, size, renovations, number of outbuildings, and all other pertinent details about the house.
MAKE SURE UTILITIES ARE ON
If the house is unoccupied, the utilities may have been turned off. And that just makes a quality inspection entirely too difficult. So work with the seller to ensure that the utilities are on at the time of the inspection.
MAKE SURE SELLER IS INFORMED
Also, the seller needs to know when the inspection will take place. Typically, the real estate agent will take care of this, trying to make sure the seller is gone during the process. If, however, you aren’t using an agent, you’ll have to take care of this yourself.
STAY FLEXIBLE
To schedule a home inspection in Garner means coordinating with a minimum of three parties – you (the buyer), the seller and the inspector – and working around and with their schedules. So try to remain flexible enough to schedule an inspection when it is convenient for the inspector, which usually means not on weekends. A lack of flexibility on your part may mean you have to settle for a less qualified inspector.
Use a Good Local Agent
Really, there is a lot to consider to schedule a home inspection in Garner, enough that it can be quite a challenge for someone who isn’t a real estate professional. As a home buyer, you will also need to ask the inspector a lot of questions and know how to read the inspection report in order to fully understand what the inspection reveals. But many times, buyers just don’t know what to ask or how to interpret the report. And that’s exactly where a good agent can provide valuable assistance.