For Your Protection, Get a Home Inspection.

That's the name of a document I share with all home buyers.

Home inspections give buyers detailed information about a home prior to purchase. Inspectors take an in depth look at your potential new home to evaluate the physical condition, identify needed repairs, and estimate the remaining life of major systems and equipment.

In very few cases will you, as a buyer, want to forgo a home inspection (those cases could include new construction, highly competitive bidding situations, or personal subject knowledge). In the Pennsylvania Association of Realtor's Standard Agreement for the Sale of Real Estate, several inspections are listed for buyers to elect or waive, including a general home inspection, radon, wood-destroying insect, and lead-based paint inspection.

Nancy Patt's work as a mortgage loan officer with Residential Mortgage Services constantly interlaces with home inspectors. She says it's imperative that consumers hire an inspector with a good reputation.

"I had a client who was pinching every penny going into the home-buying process," said Patt, a longtime Derry township resident. "Their agent gave them several names of reputable, local home inspectors but they called someone off the Internet who was the cheapest. It didn't work out well."

Long story short, when the appraiser arrived, he noticed a slanting wall in the basement. A structural engineer was summoned at the 11th hour and after a thorough inspection, he told the family the home they were preparing to buy had slipped completely off the foundation and would cost tens of thousands of dollars to repair. The buyers moved on, barely escaping disaster.

For your protection, get a home inspection. From a reputable inspector.

Keep in mind that the home inspector, great as he/she can be, is a generalist. Using him is much like visiting your general practitioner; if you're suffering from chronic sinus infections, the practitioner will likely refer you to an ENT.

A good generalist is always needed. There's a time and a place for a specialist.

Andy Shrawder, owner of Hershey Termite and Pest Control, is the ENT for bugs.

"Nobody can be an expert in everything," said Andy, who is one of only 300 pest control business owners who has completed PA's accredited wood destroying insects (WDI) courses. "Home inspectors have a basic knowledge of a lot of things but don't have the knowledge or experience of a specialist. We're looking at pest control issues day in and day out."

Just this month, I was with Shrawder on a follow-up to a home inspection that indicated evidence of WDI. He found an active termite tunnel. He promptly treated the home. Problem solved.

For your protection, get a home inspection. And use a specialist when needed.

Other specialists you might need to bring into the mix include plumbers, electricians, roofers, HVAC technicians, structural engineers, chimney sweeps, and brick masons. Your home inspector will recommend when to give them the nod.

Sometimes you'll find a home that's already been inspected; the homeowners could have pro-actively ordered a home inspection for their own knowledge. Or maybe there's been a previous contract on the home and, because of the home inspection results, the buyer terminated the contract. The report must then be shared with the buyers' agent, the home sellers, and attached to the previously filled out sellers' property disclosure for all potential buyers to read.

Inspections cost around $400, less for smaller homes. That's a small price to pay when making an investment 1,000 times greater.

Be a responsible home buyer and carefully examine your new home with a licensed pro.

Eileen S. Voyles is a REALTOR® with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesale Realty. She can be reached at 717-508-4610 or evoyles@homesale.com.

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