Purchasing pre-owned home - advice of what to look for during inspection - how is ins

[patball]

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[retiredguy123]

Use a flashlight to inspect the ceilings for roof leak stains, even in closets, and for leaks in the sink cabinets.
Make sure the water pressure is good in the faucets.
Look for wall and floor cracks that may indicate foundation settling.
Check the ground around the house to see if it slopes away from the house.
Check the HVAC for age and proper heating and cooling.
Check the age of the water heater and the roof.
If there is an addition or lanai enclosure, I would ask to see the permit.
Do not buy a home warranty.

These are the important things that I would inspect, but I would also hire Frank D'Angelo to do a complete inspection, after you sign a sales contract.

[vintageogauge]

Use D'Angelo. They have the equipment to do a thorough job.

[rjm1cc]

Look at the angle of the drive way.
Location of home in terms of potential flooding
Not close to a pond
I would test each electrical outlet and turn on all water facets and lights.
Run dishwasher, garage door and anything else you can.
Turn down temp and listen to JHVAC starting and turn up temp and listen to heater starting.Make sure drain for heater is working. Check flters.
I would fill up all sinks and tubs and check how well they drain.
Budget for a roof replacement so you are ok when the time comes.
Look in the atic for insulation level and duck problems.

[trueorange]

Get a mold test.

[villagetinker]

Another vote for Frank, I would give him a call and see what he can do for you. He did our 1 year warranty inspection and was excellent. While I agree with the above suggestions, many of us are not qualified to do an inspection. IMHO, I would make any sale/purchase agreement contingent upon a complete home inspection by a 3rd party (aka Frank), and then you will need to discuss any problems that were found and what is to be done.

[starflyte1]

Age of roof. It may be a 25 or 30 year roof, but some insurance doesn't like over 20 year.

[villagetinker]

Also, as noted above, I would also ask for documentation showing when significant items were replaced, if there are extended warranties, or if the warranties are transferable to new owners.

[Bogie Shooter]

Post #3 is your answer.....let a pro do it right.

[retiredguy123]

I absolutely agree that hiring a professional home inspector is a good idea, but only after you have signed a sales contract. You still need to have some inspection skills when you are screening houses to buy.

[patball]

Thank you. This really helps. We were wondering if there are “Florida specific” things to look for. The mold is one for sure!


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[asianthree]

Use D'Angelo. They have the equipment to do a thorough job.

Use him for all 3 of our homes. Unless you inspect for a living, I would never put my money at risk

[Topspinmo]

First thing I would look for? Make sure street drain don’t run through you’re property that’s connected to retention pond.

[Two Bills]

First thing I would look for? Make sure street drain don’t run through you’re property that’s connected to retention pond.

Amen Brother!

[Carla B]

Not related to house itself but location. Analyze traffic going in and out of neighborhood. For example, drive up North Morse Blvd. above 466 to see residents attempting to turn left onto Morse during busy hours.

[Chellybean]

Folks everyone is missing the termite inspection. Be sure it has a company that has done inspection each year and had a termite bond on it. It should of been treated for subterranean termites around the foundation including airborne termites.
If it is a wood framed home i would have a termite inspection also, a block home also can have problems to if the walls inside are framed wood, not to mention roof rafter.
Just a FYI.
The spraying of the wood at construction (Green Stuff) is a joke.

[DangeloInspections]

Thank you for the kind words. Of course I am biased, but I would agree that the small cost of a GOOD home inspection can save you big headaches later.

Case in point. We did two Pre-sale inspections today. Both homes were about 4-5 years old....so you would think that the chance if finding an issue would be small.

Both homes were beautiful. When we walked on the roof of the first home we found that although the roof looked great, almost every shingle was NOT sealed down. It appears that the singles may be defective. Most likely they are still covered by the manufacturer. That house most likely will be getting a new roof.

The second home was vacant for months. They had a broken sprinkler head that shot copious amounts of water into the top portion of the decorative stucco. This had soaked the stucco and the OSB behind it. The OSB and 2x4's was spongy wet and black, etc. This portion of the home may most likely need to be torn off and rebuilt, costing a few thousand dollars. All because of a two dollar sprinkler head left unfixed.

Unless you walk all over the roof, crawl through the attic, own moisture meters and thermal imaging cameras, and know how to check the HVAC, Electrical, etc, etc....you are buying without really knowing what you are buying.

We inspect over 640 homes a year in The Villages, and we love what we do.

Thank you for your time. Respectfully, Frank D.

[Packer Fan]

Age of roof. It may be a 25 or 30 year roof, but some insurance doesn't like over 20 year.

I absolutely agree that you should have Frank D'Angelo or Tom Comer do your inspection. I agree with the comment above. I would add one thing - get a ladder, go up on the roof and make sure your shingles are all sealed on the bottom. To be honest Irma was a good test, but there have been a LOT of houses where some percentage were not sealed, and they blow off in a high (sub huricane) wind. Just go in different areas and make sure you can't pull up the bottoms of the shingles with your hand.
Just a suggestion from Personal experience.... long story. They missed it (not the two guys above) during the 1 year inspection, we discovered a year later. The Villages got involved with the Shingle company and got it fixed, but it took a lot of haggling. It would have been much easier if it was done during year 1 warranty.
Ed

[JohnN]

like the others said, get a pro inspection. DeAngelo does good work. But also look and check around yourself. Outlets, drains, look for foundation cracks at the base, walls and ceilings - some of the homes here do settle more than others depending on what The Villages filled in with, especially south of 466A.

[B-flat]

Post #3 is your answer.....let a pro do it right.

Plus 1

[vintageogauge]

Folks everyone is missing the termite inspection. Be sure it has a company that has done inspection each year and had a termite bond on it. It should of been treated for subterranean termites around the foundation including airborne termites.
If it is a wood framed home i would have a termite inspection also, a block home also can have problems to if the walls inside are framed wood, not to mention roof rafter.
Just a FYI.
The spraying of the wood at construction (Green Stuff) is a joke.

Have you ever known a for a fact that someone used their termite bond in TV, that is a money grabbing joke and even more so on a block/stucco home. If everyone here paid the annual premium alone it is over $6,000,000 mostly split between Dean's, Massey, and Fertigator. I agree that you should have the inspection for peace of mind, just don't agree with paying an annual fee for subterranean termite insurance.

[graciegirl]

I would hire home inspector Frank D'Angelo and Sons.

They are very, very thorough. They are dependable and ethical and very intelligent. You can TRUST them.