This is Your biggest investment. Americans aren’t big savers. Instead of piggy banks, Americans own homes. If you buy a lemon of a house, you may watch your biggest investment go belly up. That is why it is important to use a licensed and trained home inspector to inspect your potential new home, or to inspect your home before listing it on the market.

You are given an inspection window when you make an offer on a residential property, that is your time to hire a professional inspector to look over the home. Once this window closed, it is too late for you to resolve any issues that would be the responsiblity of the seller to repair prior to closing.  At this point the issues are your responsibility.

If you are listing a home for sale, it is a good idea to get a pre-listing inspection completed on your home.  This will give you the chance to repair or disclosure any issues that are discovered during the inspection. As a real estate professional and an inspector, I have seen to many times a good offer is lost due to an issue found in the inspection process. If you know these issues in advance, you can make the needed repairs.  This will give the buyer peace of mind during the process ans show that you are being proactive in the listing and selling process.