Houston Home Inspection Reviews
10 Questions to Ask a Houston Home Inspector
What your Houston Home Inspection Should Cover
Houston home inspections are a visual evaluation of the home, lasting only a few hours, and are not intended to be technically exhaustive. Houston home inspections are a valuable and key component of real estate, whether selling a home, buying a home, or maintaining a home.
A home inspection is defined as the process by which a home inspector observes and provides a written report of the systems and components of a residential building. HoustonProperties.com believes home inspections are essential for the conscientious Houston home owner that wants to evaluate and protect a new Houston home purchase. Houston home inspections are not appraisals: a property appraisal is a document that provides an estimate of a property’s market value.
Home inspection is a very individualized profession and the skill and experience of home inspectors varies widely. Home Inspections are performed by trained home inspection professionals and are done Monday-Saturday. Contact HoustonProperties.com for recommended Houston Home Inspectors.
10 Questions to Ask a Houston Home Inspector
- What are your qualifications? Are you a member of the American Society of Home Inspectors or National Association of Home Inspectors?
- Do you have a current license? Inspectors are not required to be licensed in every state.
- How many inspections of properties such as this do you do each year?
- Do you have a list of past clients I can contact?
- Do you carry professional errors and omission insurance? May I have a copy of the policy?
- Do you provide any guarantees of your work?
- What specifically will the inspection cover?
- What type of report will I receive after the inspection?
- How long will the inspection take and how long will it take to receive the report?
- How much will the inspection cost?
What Your Houston Home Inspection Should Cover
- Siding: Look for dents or buckling
- Foundations: Look for cracks or water seepage
- Exterior Brick: Look for cracked bricks or mortar pulling away from bricks
- Insulation: Look for condition, adequate rating for climate (the higher the R value, the more effective the insulation is)
- Doors and Windows: Look for loose or tight fits, condition of locks, condition of weather-stripping
- Roof: Look for age, conditions of flashing, pooling water, buckled shingles, or loose gutters and downspouts
- Ceilings, walls, and moldings: Look for loose pieces, dry wall that is pulling away.
- Porch/Deck: Loose railings or step, rot
- Electrical: Look for condition of fuse box/circuit breakers, number of outlets in each room
- Plumbing: Look for poor water pressure, banging pipes, rust spots or corrosion that indicate leaks, sufficient insulation
- Water Heater: Look for age, size adequate for house, speed of recovery, energy rating.
- Furnace/Air Conditioning: Look for age, energy rating. Furnaces are rated by annual fuel utilization efficiency; the higher the rating, the lower your fuel costs. However, other factors such as payback period and other operating costs, such as electricity to operate motors.
- Garage: Look for exterior in good repair; condition of floor’cracks, stains, etc.; condition of door mechanism.
- Basement: Look for water leakage, musty smell.
- Attic: Look for adequate ventilation, water leaks from roof.
- Septic Tanks (if applicable): Adequate absorption field capacity for the percolation rate in your area and the size of your family.
- Driveways/Sidewalks: Look for cracks, heaving pavement, crumbling near edges, stains.
Paige Martin is a member of the prestigious Martha Turner Properties’ Circle of Excellence, an award given to honor the company’s top producers. Paige is a member of HAR, TAR and the National Association of Realtors. Her website, , features over 500 pages of Houston real estate information and details on over 40,000 properties of Houston Texas Real Estate for sale as well, as free tips on how to quickly sell Houston homes. Paige Martin, Realtor, Martha Turner Properties.
Call Paige at 713-384-5177 to tour a Houston Tx home today or email [email protected] for more information.
