Skip to content 
Collingwood Real Estate tip: When buying a home clients often will ask, do I need a home inspection, can I do it myself, what is best? As your Real Estate Agent we always strongly suggest yes, a professional Home Inspector should be used.
In most cases buyers do not have the background or knowledge to be able to look at their potential home to see any defects that may exist. It is in your best interest to have a professional one done. Of course there are issues that most people will be able to list, it needs a new roof soon, has old windows, old furnace, moisture in the windows, etc. but a home inspector will be looking at all systems in the house from heating & hvac, to plumbing, wiring & electrical, insulation, appliances (if included), fireplaces, windows & doors, structure, exterior, roof, grading & drainage, and more. Don’t forget, a Home Inspector can’t see behind walls (and doesn’t have permission to open them up), but they look for indications of things that could be hidden from them.
All home inspections will find things to be pointed out, if you are lucky the home inspection will find only normal age / maintenance related items like the furnace filter needs to be changed, down spouts should be extended away from the house, a carbon monoxide detector is required… And home inspections can act ask a reminder for what to tend-to on a regular basis, like emptying the leaves from the eaves, making sure all grading goes away from the house, checking smoke detectors regularly, running a dry sump pump yearly to make sure it works…
But things can be discovered, if they do exist hopefully they are small issues like GFI’s need to be replaced or installed, recaulking of Windows, tightening of a loose bannister, etc. these are items that a buyer should tend to. In some cases some could be requested by the Buyers Realtor to be completed on/by closing, these are usually of a safety nature or something the Seller had claimed /advertised, but upon inspection didn’t work. For example including a dishwasher in the sale but it is actually broken, or no smoke detectors on the premises. Paying for a home inspection is one the best investments you can ever buy, especially when your end up not purchasing a home due to costly issues.
Sometimes home inspectors find something more serious in homes for sale, luckily not very common, but it does happen… to be continued…
If you are looking for homes for sale in Collingwood please contact me, I would love to help you with buying your new property.
– Jill Does
Real Estate Sales Representative, Realtor ®
Royal LePage Trinity Realty Brokerage
