by Carolyn Lanier

Created on: December 20, 2008   Last Updated: December 24, 2008

Purchasing a home is one of the biggest decisions and investments we make in our lives. You find the house that seems perfect, a place you want to call home. The house looks great as you do a walk through and ways of making it even more beautiful pop in your head. You even ask the Real Estate agent questions, How old is the roof, the carpet, the pool liner and other questions regarding the house, thinking you're doing a great job of doing your own home inspection.

Life is going great. You are Purchasing the home of your dreams, The down payment, mortgage note, insurance, all within your budget. So you sign a stack of papers for a 20 or 30 year mortgage and move in.

Then Bang, it hits your wallet. The hot water heater is leaking, a tree at the back of the house has caused the eave to rot behind it, not to mention the roots are growing under the foundation.

Small to major things that are wrong with a house can easily be overlooked when someone may be overwhelmed by the things that make this house what they are looking for in a home. Or someone anxious to purchase their own home to get out of rental property.

A friend who is a plumber or an Electrician is not qualified to detect every problem in a home inspection. Whether you are purchasing a home for the first time or have own many homes in the past, it is best to hire a specialist, some who is highly trained and knows what to look for in home inspections.

You can ask your Real Estate agent to recommend someone, but remember, the agent is only interested in making this sale, and the specialist they recommend may be a friend of theirs. Or you can ask friends who have recently purchased a home who they used and if they were pleased with the way the home inspection went. Or you can get one on your own by looking in your phone book or over the Internet for Home Inspectors.

If you are purchasing this home to be your primary residents, you want to be able to enjoy it for years to come without any major problems. You want to hire someone who is a current member of ( ASHI ) American Society of Home Inspectors, or ( NAHI ) National Association of Home Inspectors.

Members of ASHI and NAHI are highly educated and trained to inspect homes and are not suppose to have any interest in the sale or recommend anyone to do any repairs on the homes they inspect. Most of these members want the buyers to be present when they are there to inspect the home. When purchasing a home, make sure there's a clause in the contract that lets you back out of the deal in case major problems are detected.

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