Brian's story continued....

Upon previewing the property, we discovered the home had a 60 amp service and the furnace was fairly old. We realized that since the insurance companies are looking more closely at 60 amp. services these days, Brian and Kelly would most likely have to update the electrical within a few months or at least within the year.

We hired a local home inspection company to do the house inspection. It took approx. 3 hours, with many items being mentioned. By the end of the home inspection, we discovered we not only had the electrical and furnace to possibly replace, but also the roof!

Wow! They were now looking at costs ranging between $8,000-$10,000 in repairs within the next year!  With only five percent down, one person working, this seemed a bit daunting! 

We went back to the vendors and explained we needed their help. We renegotiated the accepted selling price to now include the cost of a new 100 amp electrical service to be added before closing, and to be paid by the vendors.

We also called in a roofer to get a second opinion. It wasn't as bad as originally thought. Although the valleys in the roof were bad, they did have galvanized steel underneath, so the roof would probably last another 2 winters without any further damage. This was an added bonus!

If we had just made our offer conditional upon financing, we would have been stuck with all the repairs, including the electrical. By adding the home inspection clause into our offer, it gave us back the cost of the electrical system.

If you are thinking of buying a home, the cost of a home inspection just might put money back in your pocket too!

Make sure you have a buyer agent looking out for your interests!