Complete Guide About Home Inspection in NYC

By: ROS Team

The home inspection determines the living conditions in a house. It helps you know if there is an issue with the property or not?

As a rule of thumb, there shall be an inspection before striking a deal. During the inspection, let licensed and trained officials examine the property and figure out if there is any structural or functional flaw in the house.

When Exactly Home Inspection is Required?

Here are some of the scenarios where home inspection is considered:

In NYC, an inspection is conducted by the officials to determine if the house is worth living for and if all the building protocols were followed during the construction or not? Officials pay a personal visit to the house and perform a visual inspection. The process generally includes taking pictures and notes of the site. Based on that inspection, they prepare a final report which states the legality of the house.
Another purpose it serves is when home buyers plan to purchase a certain property. They ask trained officials to inspect the property on their behalf and let them know if there is any fundamental flaw in the structure or if there is any maintenance work required at the property.
When listing agents bring a property to the market, they inspect a unit to determine the conditions of the house.
Usually, homeowners also schedule an inspection at regular intervals to get to know the current status of their house.
Potential tenants may also take advantage of these services and may get to know about the apartment in advance.

Cost To Get a House Inspected:

A home inspection provides you with valuable information. When you aim to strike a deal, it works in your best interests to have exact information about the building.

However, it does not come free of cost. Though the cost of an inspection may vary from company to company, $300 is considered an average amount for a home inspection in NYC.

How to Find Professionals for a Home Inspection?

Generally, people get to know about the best house inspector from their real estate agents or brokers. If you do not feel content with the name provided to you by your agent, you may ask your friends or family to recommend someone to you.
Another good source is to read reviews or feedback in online journals or websites.
Besides, you may also approach companies that give training to the house inspectors such as the National Association of Home Inspectors (NAHI) and the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI).

You Should Ask the Following Question Before Hiring a Home Inspector:

Qualification
Certifications
Working Experience
Any Previous House Inspection Report Prepared by him.

How Long Does It Take for Inspection?

You shall expect it to take at least a couple of hours. It may take more time if the house is bigger than average or if you have asked for any additional service during the inspection. The process includes taking pictures, jotting down irregularities, and examining every area.

With the help of that material, the inspector is supposed to write a comprehensive report which must contain detailed points along with photos for evidence.

You should get the report within a week from the inspection day.

What Should be Included in a Home Inspection?

Apart from visual inspection and superficial examination, the following are the main elements of home inspection:

Building Structure:

It includes foundations and stricture of the building including roof, walls, ceiling, floors, stairways, balcony, and drainage system.

Electrical Items:

Apart from structure, all the electrical items such as HVAC and heating system, cables, cooling system, switches, and electrical panels are also included.

Plumbing Issues:

It covers the water system of the house including heater, drainage, waste, and plumbing fittings.

General Appliances:

It includes all the appliances installed in the kitchen or garage such as door openers, dishwashers, garbage disposal, cooking range, exhaust fans, microwave oven, and refrigerator.

Why Buyers Do Not Take It Seriously?

What could be more valuable than getting to know about problems in a property you are going to buy. On the contrary, it has been observed that most the buyers ignore this important step for the various reasons discussed below:

Hunting apartments consume a lot of energy and money so they feel exhausted by the time they find one.
They do not know much about the technicalities of the mechanical system.
They hold building management responsible for the problems.
Already spent enough money during the search and now do not feel like expanding expenses.

All of the reasons are valid and logical but leaving everything to luck is not a good idea at all. One should cover the extra mile in advance to avoid any surprise about the conditions of the home after the deal is done.

To be honest, wear and tear have their impact on the property and anything may go wrong at any time. So, the best thing which protects you from all of this is to conduct a home inspection in advance.

Conclusion:

To be honest, home inspection always turns out to be the best investment for whatever purpose you do it. Getting to know the potential issues in the building always turns out valuable.

We wish you a great time in your new apartment.

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