Buying a home is one of the most important investment decisions you will make in your lifetime. As such, it makes sound financial sense to enlist the services of a qualified home inspection company to ensure your home is as solid and secure on the inside as it is on the outside. It’s not fun to discover after closing that your dream home comes with an additional unexpected and sometimes costly, repair or replacement expense.

A home inspection will determine the structural and mechanical soundness of your home. Your home inspector will identify existing and potential problem areas, suggest practical low-cost solutions, and provide estimates regarding costs for any work required. Shortly after the inspection has taken place, a written report summarizing the findings is generally provided to the potential purchaser.

By commissioning a home inspection prior to purchase, you’re protecting both yourself and your investment, as well as buying a little peace-of-mind.

Home inspection costs often range according to size, age, and location of the home. Your sales representative can recommend reputable home inspection services or arrange for a home inspector to visit your property.

Technically defined a Home Inspection is the visual examination of the home to determine the condition of that home at the time of Inspection. Home Inspectors are highly skilled at determining a house’s condition, but they are limited to what they can access visually.

The main purpose of a home inspection is to determine if the home has any existing major defects (usually defined as repairs costing $1,000 to $1,500 and up), or any major repairs coming up in the near future. The inspector will point out smaller defects during the inspection, of course, many problems can add up to a major cost.

An inspection done to the Standards of Practice of the Ontario Association of Home Inspectors (OAHI) will cover the following major systems and components: Roofing, Chimneys and Flashing, Exterior, Property Drainage, Structure, Electrical Heating and Cooling, Insulation, Plumbing, Foundation and Interior.