Do I need a home inspection?
I have had people ask me if it is really necessary to spend the money on a home inspection. You don't need a home inspector to tell you the carpet is old or wore out, or that the paint is peeling off the walls. Cosmetic issues are not the primary purpose of a home inspection. A certified professional home inspector will check all the components of a house to make sure they were installed correctly, that they are safe, and functioning properly. They will also get into areas that you would not check while doing a walk through, such as taking the cover off of the electric panel to check for any issues and crawling through the attic and crawl space.
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From a home inspection in Portage Indiana.[/caption]
This is a picture of a bathroom exhaust fan venting directly into the attic. This will discharge warm moist air into the attic which will lead to condensation and possible mold growth. This issue is found very often on a home inspection. Bath exhaust fans need to vent to the exterior of the house.
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From a home inspection in Michigan City Indiana In this picture there are two conductors on the same breaker. These breakers are designed to only have one conductor. This is a safety issue as one or both of the conductors can become loose which can cause an arch and lead to a fire. This is easily corrected but it has to be found in the first place.
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From a home inspection in Valparaiso Indiana
This area of the roof was not visible from the ground. This could have only been found by walking the roof. The problem here is that the trim was installed to close to the shingles. The trim should be held up 3/4 of an inch and the cut end of the trim was probably not sealed before installing. This has led to the wood trim soaking up water and starting to rot. As a home Inspector I make every effort possible to access the entire roof.[/caption]
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Home inspection Merrillville Indian[/caption]
In this picture from a home inspection in Merrillville Indiana the flashing on the flue pipe from the furnace and water heater had been sealed with roofing tar because it was leaking. The tar has dried out and cracked and is no longer water tight. This was not visible from the ground.
As you can see there can be many issues with a house that you will not be aware of by doing your walk through. As a certified professional home inspector doing home inspections in all of northwest Indiana including LaPorte county and being a builder for over thirty years, I take great pride in doing as thorough an inspection as I can.