In North Carolina in 2024, the average home price is now around $350,000, but almost 90% of prospective new homeowners find a fault in a potential new home via the home inspection process. On average, these repairs will cost around $15,000. That’s well worth the price of a thorough home inspection in our book.
Home inspectors generally will assess a property to determine its overall condition. This process includes but may not necessarily be limited to:
- HVAC
- Structural Components
- Electrical
- Plumbing
- Roofing
- Foundation
Once an inspection is complete, your inspector will submit his or her report to the necessary parties for review. This report will have a significant weight when assessing the overall value of the home or property, or the appraisal. This will also affect the loan amount you are eligible to receive when doing a home loan.
What Will a Home Inspection Cover in North Carolina?
A home inspection looks for all the major and minor defects in a home. Your selected inspector will also check for any possible safety hazards in the house. Here are some of the inspections that are covered:
Roof Inspection: This will help to determine the amount (if any) of mold, leakage, or even structural damage and more.
HVAC Inspection: A thorough inspection of the HVAC system in the home is very important to determine heating, cooling, and ventilation capabilities.
Plumbing Inspection: What could be more important than proper plumbing? A good inspector will check pipelines, sewer lines, toilets and sinks.
Electrical Inspection: Sometimes an inspector might find faulty or exposed wiring, circuits that are overloaded, and sometimes even worse situations.
Foundation Inspection: While many times this can have much to do with mold, inspection of any small (or large) cracks, mildew or damaged floorboards can give insight into a larger problem with the home.
In NC when you decide to buy a home, every lender will always require an inspection report before pre-approval. At Above Parr Home Inspections, we are very familiar with this process and can provide a thorough assessment and help you work with your lender. If a home inspection contingency as a part of your purchase agreement becomes a factor, this can help you renegotiate your purchase or even back out of the deal. In North Carolina you have 7 to 10 days to do this.
While we are very good at what we do, a Home Inspector is not a financial advisor. We can only report defects in the home and suggest how to repair them. We cannot tell you whether or not to buy the home in question.
Once we do complete our inspection process, there are 4 basic options on where you will go next:
- Close on the Sale – purchasing the property at the asking price
- Seller Makes Repairs – Especially if they are minor, the seller may make repairs before the sale
- Final Price is Reduced – The seller may forgo repairs and just reduce the price
- Cancel Deal – If significant enough faults are found and the seller is unwilling to come down in price enough, the buyer is allowed to back out of the deal if it is deemed a safety hazard
It’s not so much the amount of faults reported, but more the severity of the faults and the seller’s willingness to compromise on price and/or make adequate repairs before the sale. Renegotiation is a common element when buying a home!
Scheduling a home inspection with a reputable home inspector is the best way to reduce liability on the buyer’s part and is actually required in NC if you plan on getting a mortgage. It can help you decide if the purchase will be a wise one and give you peace of mind when making one of the biggest decisions of your life.