How To Schedule A Home Inspection In Floresville

One of the most important aspects of the home-buying process besides picking out the home and getting a good price is the home 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. In Texas, the buyer can use the option period to do all their due diligence on the property. Things such as flood zones, schools, drive time and inspections. So the inspection report becomes a 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 Floresville.

Standard Procedure to Schedule a Home Inspection

There is no shortage of guidelines about home inspections and a great deal of variance among them. While the seller is required to disclose known issues with the house there can be issues the seller is truly not aware of. So this is the buyers’ time to have an inspection and see what those issues may be. In general, real estate experts recommend the following steps to schedule a home inspection in Floresville 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 option period is the time in Texas to negotiate what is found on the inspection. The purchase price or repairs to be done aren’t set in stone till closing, so the best time to schedule is right after your offer has been accepted. It allows the sellers time to review what the buyer is requesting to be repaired and get quotes for the repairs. At that point the seller can decide what they are willing to repair or what might be negotiable. And this allows the buyer to decide if this issue is large enough to not buy the house if it is not repaired. So scheduling early is the very best idea.

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 (210) 216-7722.) Request two or three names and then do some research and interviewing. Some inspectors only inspect in limited areas and of course prices vary.

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 he can conduct an inspection when you need it. You’ll also want to find out about his process and how much he charges. Inspections generally run around $350 or more depending upon the scope of the inspection. Home inspectors are not licensed experts in items like the HVAC system, roofs, and plumbing systems but they are trained to have the basic knowledge. Because they are not licensed in those areas if there is any concerns they might have about a particular item, they will recommend that the buyer have a licensed expert look at the item for an opinion. And items like extra buildings, swimming pools, etc which are not part of the main house add to the cost.

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 hours when done right. Normally the inspector will meet with the buyer at the end of his inspection to walk them through his findings before he sends the written report. He will explain items of concern or items that need further evaluation or testing by a expert in that field.

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 Floresville:

GET PRE-APPROVED

Make sure you go into the inspection process with your questions ready and you are ready to buy. Nothing is more frustrating to all parties concerned than having a buyer cancel at the last minute because they changed their minds. 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 and the contract has been receipted at the title company. You need to be in contract because a seller normally will not allow an inspection by just a “looker.” That could be negotiated but it has to be clear with the seller that the buyer wants to do an inspection before they decide to make an offer. That scenario might be possible in the event of a home that may show need of repairs. That pre offer inspection may help a buyer decide on their offer price or even if they want to make an offer.

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. They do their preliminary homework before the inspection.

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. A foreclosed property will not have utilities on. The buyers’ agent has to arrange turning on the utilities with the REO listing agent.

MAKE SURE SELLER IS INFORMED

Also, the seller needs to know when the inspection will take place. Typically, the buyer’s real estate agent will inform the listing agent of the date and time they wish to do the inspection, 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 Floresville 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 means not on weekends. A lack of flexibility on your part may mean you have to settle for a different inspector than your first choice.

Use a Good Local Agent

Really, there is a lot to consider to schedule a home inspection in Floresville, 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.