Residential Real EstateHow to Turn Your Home Inspection Into a Maintenance Planning Guide
Your offer has been accepted and, like 77 percent of American homebuyers, you"ve heeded your agent"s advice to hire a professional home inspector to examine the home you hope to purchase. But once the inspector has done the job and issued a report, what"s your job?
Barring the discovery of a major defect that will significantly alter the negotiations, you shouldn"t dismiss the inspection as just a formality. Instead, you should use the findings, along with a little research, to calculate how much replacement and maintenance of individual parts will cost you in the coming years and analyze the value of the home you"re about to purchase.
To begin, you"ll need to scrutinize each part of the picture and analyze the finding as a whole while considering the home"s construction, the amount of maintenance required, the quality of the individual parts, replacement cycles, and improvements that have been made, says Freddie Mac, which finances one of every six homes in the country.
Once you have the report in hand and have gone through the house carefully several times, including with the inspector, Freddie Mac recommends that when you evaluate the big picture you:
Consider how well the home is maintained. A well kept home will command a higher price than similar homes that have not been maintained through the
years.
Weigh the individual parts. If original casement windows have been replaced with new insulated glass windows, consider that a plus. Similarly, if the kitchen has undergone an impressive remodel with new appliances and cabinetry, you can put aside any concerns about replacement costs in the near future.
Understand the replacement cycles for the house"s systems and parts. If you"re looking at a 10-year-old home, then you can expect to replace the dishwasher, disposal, hot water heater, warm air furnace, heat pump, air conditioning compressor, and gas chiller within the next five or so years. If the house is 15 or more years old, then you"ll want to thoroughly examine the condition of the roof - asphalt, wood shake or shingles, and fiberglass roofs need replacing at about 20 years and will cost up to $1.75 a square foot.
Consider any additions in your analysis. These will add value to the home. An addition typically costs $70 to $120 per square foot.
Try to detect and determine how much was spent on major remodeling projects. Then analyze the increased value of the property compared to similar homes in the neighborhood. You could be getting a bargain. If the sellers put $40,000 into a kitchen remodel but are asking just $20,000 more than equivalent neighborhood homes, you"re getting $20,000 in extra value.
Consult your real estate agent about whether the house has been over-improved. If it is, you could potentially have problems when you resell.
Know the cost of materials. Realize that slate roof costs five times as much as an asphalt shingle roof; masonry or brick facing is about three times more than wood, vinyl or aluminum; hardwood floors are about twice as much as carpeting.
If a home in bad shape, then you"ll want to calculate how much it will cost to bring it up to livable standards. You"ll also want to consider whether the needed improvements are functional or aesthetic requirements.
For a schedule of estimated remodeling and repair costs, Click Here
Once the home inspection is complete and you"ve decided to purchase the home, the inspection, along with Freddie Mac"s guides, should also give you
an idea of what it will cost to maintain it in the years to come. You"ll have peace of mind and the ability to plan ahead for your home"s maintenance and repairs.