Should You Get a Home Inspection?

Home
>
Mortgage Refinance
>
Should You Get a Home Inspection?

Should You Get a Home Inspection?

It's very important, and in my opinion, mandatory to have a home inspection done before you close on a house. The inspection helps with giving you an objective evaluation of any problems with the home before you move in.

Make sure you have a home inspection contingency in your contract before you sign it. You want to be able to back out of a contract if the inspection turns up any serious problems that the seller is not obligated to fix or that will be too costly for you to pay for on your own.

A home inspection report is a complex document that an inspector fills out while going over the house. The inspector will not catch everything that's wrong with a house, but they are very thorough and can catch any major problems.

The inspector reviews the house from the roof to the foundation. They review the condition of the home's heating and central air condition systems, interior plumbing, electrical systems, roof, foundation, basement, attic, walls, ceilings, floors, windows, doors, visible insulation and visible structure.

A home inspection usually costs between $200 to $400. This cost can be added to the closing cost or you can pay for it up front. It's up to you how you want to pay for it. Your real estate agent might offer to find a home inspector for you, but you should make the final decision on who will do the inspection.

Good home inspectors are very thorough and very detailed. Also, good home inspectors are licensed. Some states don't require licensing for home inspectors, but if you want to get the best out of an inspection, find a licensed inspector. Ask friends and family members who have had inspections done for recommendations.

Another great way to find a licensed inspector is at the American Society of Home Inspectors' (ASHI) website at http://www.ashi.org. Members of this organization must abide by standards and guideline practices and a code of ethics set forth by the national organization.

Another place to find licensed inspectors is at the National Association of Home Inspectors, Inc. (NAHI) website at http://www.nahi.org. They too have a standards of practice and code of ethics that inspectors must abide by. Both ASHI and NAHI allow you to search for home inspectors in your area.

Michelle Roebuck provides mortgage and home buying advice for people with bad credit at http://www.find-bad-credit-mortgage-loans.com Sign up for her newsletter at http://www.find-bad-credit-mort gage-loans.com/newsletter.html

In The News:

King of How To News
No Drop in Refinancing Expected
NASDAQ
Overall mortgage lending is expected to increase slightly this year, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is predicting, thanks to declining rates that are supporting continued demand for refinancing. The MBA today upped its mortgage lending estimate ...
Mortgage Refinance in Today's Real Estate MarketKing of How To News
Refinance Applications Increase in U.S. for Third Consecutive Week, Driven by ...World Property Channel
Today's Mortgage Rates: Bank of America, Wells Fargo and PNC Bank Refinance ...Eastern Morning Herald
The Republic -Community Voice -MortgageLoan.com
all 59 news articles »

eCreditDaily.com
Time to Refinance While Mortgage Rates are So Low
FreeRateUpdate.com
After taking a look at these details, many borrowers are going to find that it is time to refinance while mortgage rates are so low even if they refinanced several years ago. For those with adjustable mortgage rates, it is the perfect time to switch to ...
Mortgage applications up on refi demand: MBAReuters
MBA Weekly Survey: Refinance Applications Increase Because of Record Low ...LoanSafe
The Truth About Mortgage Refinancing Revealed by Kansas and Missouri Mortgage ...SBWire (press release)
The Hill (blog) -eCreditDaily.com -MarketWatch (press release)
all 106 news articles »

e-wisdom.com
Realtors(R) Offer Support for Bill to Help Responsible Homeowners Refinance
MarketWatch (press release)
WASHINGTON, DC, May 24, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- A proposed bill to streamline and align the refinance processes of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may soon make it easier for homeowners who are current on their mortgage payments but who have been ...
Mortgage Rates: Low Mortgage Rates Remain in Place as Consumer Sentiment SoarsFreeRateUpdate.com
Freddie Mac: 30-year mortgage rate down a tick at 3.78%Los Angeles Times
Refinancing homeowners overwhelmingly choose fixed loanse-wisdom.com
International Business Times -KETK -BusinessWeek
all 315 news articles »

The Mortgage Reports (blog)
The Truth About Mortgage Refinancing Revealed by Georgia Mortgage Expert
SBWire (press release)
Atlanta, Georgia based Mortgage Broker Brad Hartman reveals mortgage refinancing secrets, offers free reports, a home buying guide and free mortgage calculators on his website, brad-hartman.com. The site is designed to give Georgia residents all the ...
Real estate industry pushes Senate on refi billMarketWatch
Push intensifies to pass home-loan refinancing billThe Hill (blog)
Q & A : Why Won't My Bank Do HARP Mortgages With PMI Or LPMI?The Mortgage Reports (blog)
FreeRateUpdate.com -Cleveland Jewish News -Seeking Alpha
all 13 news articles »

Mortgage rules prove too strict for some retirees
Washington Post
Jim Eberle of McLean found this out the hard way when he applied to refinance his mortgage. After spending much of his career working for banking industry trade associations in Washington, Eberle, 68, decided to take advantage of this spring's ...

and more »

Mortgage Origination Forecast Increased by Nearly $200 Billion by TSA
LoanSafe
MBA now expects that mortgage originations will reach $1.28 trillion in 2012, up from $1.26 trillion in 2011. Refinance originations are now expected to total $870 billion in 2012, an almost identical amount to 2011. MBA is slightly lowering its ...
2012 Originations Now Expected to Exceed 2011Mortgage Daily

all 2 news articles »

Obama's Disclosure Shows Mortgage Refinance Not High on Agenda
San Francisco Chronicle
Rates for a 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 4.46 percent last year, according to Bankrate.com data, hitting a low at the end of the year of 3.92 percent. In 2011, 4.3 million homeowners refinanced, according to data from the US Department of Housing ...

and more »

Politico
Obama to tout success of mortgage refinancing
Washington Post
In addition, he cited a program Obama announced in October 2011 designed to remove barriers to refinancing to homeowners with federally backed mortgages. Now, it is up to Congress, Donovan said, to expand such programs to homeowners with loans that are ...
Obama touts mortgage refinancing to help economic recoveryThe Hill (blog)
Obama Visits Reno, Urges Congress To Expand Mortgage Refinancing ProgramCarson Now
In Nevada, Obama touts his housing crisis effortsLos Angeles Times
Politico -CNN (blog)
all 599 news articles »

Chicago Tribune
Costco members can now shop for mortgages online
Chicago Tribune
Mortgages? Well, not exactly. The company is receiving a fair amount of publicity for the rollout on its website of a home purchase and refinancing mortgage product for members. But technically it's not Costco's program. It's an online mortgage ...

e-wisdom.com
Mortgage refinancing applications jump; rates fall: MBA
Chicago Tribune
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Applications for US home mortgages surged last week, driven by increased demand for refinancing as interest rates hit fresh lows, an industry group said on Wednesday. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted ...
Mortgage refinancing surgesBizjournals.com
The Truth About Mortgage Refinancing Revealed by Pennsylvania Mortgage ExpertSBWire (press release)
Mortgage applications increase on jump in refinancingThe Hill (blog)
LoanSafe -LoanRateUpdate (press release)
all 120 news articles »

Google News