Home Inspection for a Condominium??? Why Bother!!!

Home Inspection for a Condominium??? Why Bother!!! This is a question that I have been asked frequently over the 27 years that I have been listing and selling Real Estate in Greater Danbury. My stock answer is always the same. "Of course" is what I respond with. As a matter of fact if my clients refuse to have a building inspection I ask them to sign a waiver that states that I strongly recommend that they have an inspection and that they are not having said inspection at their own peril. Some of my clients have commented that they thought the wording of the waiver was a little harsh but most of them appreciate the fact that I am looking out for their best interest.

What types of things can go wrong with a condominium that a typical inspection would discover anyway? Well the first step in answering this question is to make sure that you have an excellent inspector to do the inspection for you. I have used Daryll Griggs of Housemaster of America http://www.housemaster.com in Danbury, CT numerous times over my 27 years in Real Estate and have found him to extremely thorough and knowledgeable. Of course there are many good inspectors in greater Danbury so please choose carefully as this is a very inportant decision.

WHAT SORT OF THINGS CAN A TYPICAL CONDOMINIUM INSPECTION FIND ANYWAY?

1. Un-grounded outlets

2. No GFCI outlet within 6 feet of a water source. This ground fault circuit interupter trips and turns off the electricity to the outlet when an appliance falls in a water source to prevent electrocution.

3. Electric hot water heater that has out lived it's effective life. Sometimes these hot water heaters can look new to the untrained eye but a thorough inspection can discover that the bottom is rusted out and ready to rupture or that the age of the unit warrants replacement or careful attention at the very least.

4. Appliances beyond their life expectancy. Sometimes these units look great but may be years beyond their expected life. Attention to these units is warranted in the future.

5. Electric baseboards not operational.

6. Thermostat not operational.

7. Furnace, boiler or heat pump system either beyond it's life expectancy or inefficient.

I'm sure that there are other parts of a condominium that can be inefficient, broken or just out of date but this list hopefully can get a buyer thinking in the right direction. Armed with this information the buyer has options. They can ask for a reduction of the selling price as a consideration for problem items. They might request that some items need to be replaced as a condition of the sale. They might decide that this is not the right condominium for them and continue their search.

Home Inspection for a Condominium??? Why Bother!!! My experience is that it is only a bother when there is a problem after the closing that a thorough inspection would have turned up.