Home inspections. I absolutely recommend getting a professional inspection done at any property that you are thinking of purchasing. If you are a general contractor or home builder then I can see how you might be qualified to do your own home inspection and I'll let you off the hook. Anyone else would be foolish not to get another experienced pair of eyes looking at every detail. You might be the best DIY handyman or handywoman out there but you are emotionally invested in this purchase. You are picturing the end result of paint and finishes and, if this is the home you plan to live in, your stuff in certain places. You're going to miss things. I've gone through this process 5 times and I always miss things.
During our home inspection there weren't many things that came up that we were unaware of but the few things our inspector found were totally worth spending the money to know about. The thing that concerned me most was a water leak that has obviously been an issue for awhile. We knew something was going on due to the hole in the ceiling below the second floor bathroom but the inspector was able to confirm that it wasn't going to be too major to get the tub assembly fixed. There is also a lot of questionable electrical work happening but only one actual super dangerous spot that needs to be addressed asap. He did point out that there is some shifting happening with the chimney that needs to be watched and is something we may not have seen until it was a much bigger problem. He also checked the air flow and heat in each room and suggested that we have an HVAC specialist come out to look at the master bedroom vents. The problem with these vents is that they run through the concrete slab and truly could become a big ole mess if we have to do too much to them. Thankfully it is just the two vents in the master and we aren't too scared of the implications.
Beyond those items there are lots of little cosmetic things like holes in drywall and missing trim and a leaky sink sprayer. We learned from the neighbor that the pool definitely needs a new liner which is not a small expense but is something we can do after we have sold our current house because obviously the pool is a luxury that we can live without for however long we need to.
We haven't gotten a hard closing date from our closing company yet, which is an endless source of annoyance, but we do have deadline to meet in order to close within 45 days of HUD signing our contract. If we cannot close on time, we will need to apply for an extension and pay $375 for the honor of waiting longer to get our new house. Can you tell I'm not thrilled by that idea? It makes me so angry. That money doesn't pay for anything. It doesn't go towards closing costs or the purchase price. Just light it on fire and kick it around. I will be one irate lady if it comes down to that because we have done everything we need to do within hours of it being requested and we are just sitting around waiting on the closing company to do their work. We know that market in our area is rreeeaalllyy slow right now so it's not like they are swamped with closings so it feels like someone is sitting with it on their desk with a post it note to work on it at the last possible second. I'm sure that's not true and I'm just a bitter wench.
Okay, next time for real is the big listy loo of things that need to happen before we move into the house. Do you work for a closing company? Can you explain to me why it takes so long and why they can't tell us when it's going to happen? Our deadline is less than two weeks away and we're getting very antsy. I keep hoping they'll call and tell us we can close tomorrow. That would be lovely my friends.
P.S. I'm posting this without proof reading because my eyeballs are getting blurry and I'm going to bed now. Please grant me grace on any typos and/or poor structure. I do my best.
