I have to admit that I am very frugal, but I have to be with my large family. When heating and air-conditioning bills were just becoming too much to bear, I finally caved in and bought new windows that I was told were more energy-efficient. They weren't as expensive as I thought they would be, which was great news. I had them installed just before winter began, and I received the lowest heating bill for the month of November that I had received in years! I was so happy that I had those windows installed, especially after being so hesitant to spend the cash on them. I created this blog to help other frugal people like me realize that sometimes spending money on home improvements really does pay off in the long run! I am now looking into new home insulation to save even more cash!
Are you in the process of buying a new home? If so, a home inspection will likely be an important part of the process. A home inspection helps you identify potential problems in the home, which can help you decide whether to negotiate for a lower price or even back out of the purchase. While a home inspection can be comprehensive, it doesn't cover everything. It's very possible that your new home could have issues that aren't found during the inspection. To be completely confident that your home is issue free, you may want to get additional inspections above and beyond the overall home inspection. Here are three such inspections that could save you money and frustration:
Roof inspection. Your roof is a pretty important part of your home, so it seems like it would be included in your home inspection. However, that's usually not the case. In most home inspections, the inspector will look at the roof outside from ground level. That's usually sufficient to see major issues, such as whether the roof is sagging. But an inspector may not be able to see more subtle problems, like whether water is intruding the house through worn shingles or flashing. You can have a roofing company come out for a fairly reasonable price. They'll actually get on the roof so they can get an up-close look.
Termite inspection. In most home inspections, the only way for the inspector to check for termites is to remove a piece of drywall and look at the the wooden studs behind the wall. Since it's technically still the seller's home, most inspectors aren't comfortable with cutting out drywall. Unfortunately, you may not know if termites are present until it's too late. If you do have termites in your home, you could face serious structural damage. A specialized termite inspector can come out and perform a safe inspection for termites and other bugs. That could help you catch a major problem before it's too late.
Land survey. Many home buyers never question the boundaries of their property. The property lines may be identified with informal markings, such as lawn mowing lines or the location of a fence. However, these informal markings may have evolved over years and they may not represent the true boundaries of the property. The problem is that if you should build a fence or a shed or complete any kind of renovation or remodel, you may accidentally build the structure on your neighbor's property. That could create huge title issues and cost you a substantial amount of money.
It's worth it to have a land survey company come out and confirm the exact property lines. That way you can know exactly how much land you're buying. For more information, contact Krause & Gantzer or a similar company.
Share