First impressions when purchasing a new home are
very important to you, as they should be. You may have noticed the gardens with
their bountiful flowers and have noticed the unmistakably smell of freshly cut
grass. You then see the crisp and clean, newly painted siding and trim, and you
have certainly noticed the beautifully stained hard-wood front entry door. When
you enter into your dream home, you notice the cleanliness of the rooms, the
stainless-steel appliances and the granite counter tops. Everything appears
perfect, just to your liking. Did you happen to notice the age and condition of
the roof? How about the furnace and water heater? The water supply and sewage
piping? I didn’t think so.  First
impressions for me, the Inspector are also very important. I do notice all of
the nice new and freshened items in the home. I also notice what you don’t. For
instance, I will see that the furnace filter had not been changed since the
beginning of the millennium. This tells me that the home owner did not take
care of the mechanicals but merely “dressed up” the home for its sale. This
also tells me that the owner does not have a maintenance contract with an HVAC
firm to perform routine maintenance. The exploratory portion of the Inspection
will give me my first impression. I can reasonably tell how well a home has
been maintained by looking at just few areas. I ask myself these questions: 1)
Are the gutters clean? 2) Are the shrubs and trees trimmed back away from the
home? 3) Are there any home owner “quick fixes”, 4) Are the furnace filters and
return duct covers clean?, and last but certainly not least, 5) Does everything
work as intended? When purchasing a
home, do yourself a favor and have the property inspected. Do yourself a bigger
favor and walk around with the Inspector to see what they see and what they
look for. |
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