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Buying a home? The process can be stressful.

A home inspection is supposed to give you peace of mind, but often has the
opposite effect. You will be asked to absorb a lot of information in a short time. This
often includes a written report, checklist, photographs, environmental reports and
what the inspector himself says during the inspection. All this combined with the
seller's disclosure and what you notice yourself makes the experience even more
overwhelming. What should you do?

Relax. Most of your inspection will be maintenance recommendations, life
expectancies and minor imperfections. These are nice to know about. However, the
issues that really matter will fall into four categories:

1. Major defects. An example of this would be a structural failure.

2. Things that lead to major defects. A small roof-flashing leak, for example.

3. Things that may hinder your ability to finance, legally occupy or insure the
home.

4. Safety hazards, such as an exposed, live buss bar at the electric panel.

Anything in these categories should be addressed. Often a serious problem can be
corrected inexpensively to protect both life and property (especially in categories 2
and 4). Most sellers are honest and are often surprised to learn of defects
uncovered during an inspection.

Realize that sellers are under no obligation to repair everything mentioned in the
report. No home is perfect. Keep things in perspective. Do not kill your deal over
things that do not matter. It is inappropriate to demand that a seller address deferred
maintenance, conditions already listed on the seller's disclosure or nit-picky items.

The above is an excerpt from Sell Your Home For More by Nick Gromicko. Copyright (C) 1997 Nick Gromicko