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INSPECTION PRICES START AT $199 FOR A  NORTH CAROLINA HOME INSPECTION BY A STATE CERTIFIED NORTH CAROLINA HOME INSPECTOR. STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA / NC LICENSED ASHI, NACHI CERTIFIED, NORTH CAROLINA INSPECTOR,  HOME INSPECTION SERVICES FOR COUNTIES ALAMANCE, CHATHAM, JOHNSTON, LEE, ORANGE, WAKE. TOWNS AND SURROUNDING AREAS  CHAPEL HILL, HILLSBOROUGH, RALEIGH, NC, APEX, NC, DURHAM, NC, CARY, NC,

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FINAL WALK THROUGH TIPS

CERTIFIED PLUS HOME INSPECTIONS
The North Carolina Home Inspection Company with
 THE MONEY BACK GUARANTEE!

NC Licensed Home Inspector
License  #2173
 

CERTIFIED PLUS
NC HOME INSPECTION INCLUDES:

	PRICES - START AT $199 - The price is set according to the size of the house. Call for exact prices for your North Carolina real estate home inspection.
	REPORT - ON SITE SUMMARY REPORT - At the end of the home inspection, you will receive a summary report of the repairs. You are now ready to negotiate any repairs right after the inspection.
	MONEY BACK GUARANTEE - Our home inspectors are professionals. We are one of the few companies that offer a money back guarantee. If you are not satisfied with our home inspection, we will gladly refund your money.
	APPLIANCES - All appliances that are purchased with the house will be tested at no extra charge. Appliances such as the dishwasher, stove, refrigerator and the washer and dryer.

FINAL WALK THROUGH TIPS
The final walk through is your last chance to address any issues with the seller. The final walk through is a serious inspection and should be approached with the mental attitude that "any item not addressed before the final closing is no longer negotiable." The author of this article will try to cover the most common problems and damaged areas encounter on walk throughs and what to do if problems are discovered. The first lesson to be learned about the final walk through is not to use the final walk through to finalize the repairs. Repairs that the seller has agreed to have repaired should be examined weeks before the final walk through. If you wait until the last day, the final walk through to examine and evaluate the repairs, and the repairs are not complete or not done correctly, you will be put in a tough situation at the closing. Most "as is" or the seller gives a monetary compensation for the repairs or, the closing is cancelled until exact repair cost are obtained. The real danger of accepting a guestimate monetary compensation for repairs at a closing is that the monetary amount may not be anywhere near the real cost of the repairs.

THE TIME SQUEEZE OR THE MUST CLOSE THAT DAY TRAP
Many people who must sell their house in order to buy the new house schedule the closing sale date of their house and the purchase closing and occupation of the new house within a day or two, this could be a very costly mistake. This also holds true for the people that schedule expiration day of a rental lease and the possession of the new home within a day or two. We suggest for a safer smoother closing, close on the house your buying first and close on the house your selling a month later. In other words, give yourself a months time cushion to address any problems that may arise with the newly purchased home. The following are some reasons that the close schedule could turn out to be financially very costly:
One - If the new house can’t close that day, for a host of legal reasons, what do you do with your furniture that may be on the moving van truck, and where will you live until the property is ready to close?. It’s not unusual for people in this situation to have to put their belonging in storage and live in a motel or with relatives for a month or two until the problems are cleared up..
Two - If you schedule too close and you find serious problems at the final walk through, you have put yourself in a weak bargaining position due to the fact that you must close and move into the new house in order to have a place to live. In my thirty years in real estate, I have known people in the close schedule situation that had to accept some serious repair problems in order to close the sale and move into the newly purchased house.

REPAIRS THE SELLER AGREED TO COMPLETE
Repairs can be expensive and should be addressed in the following manner.
(1) If the seller is doing the work himself, be very careful, when the repair is complete, hire a professional contractor to examine the work to make sure the work is done correctly. Remember, if the job is not correct you are one that will have to make the repairs later.
(2) If the seller has hired licensed contractors to complete the repairs, get the name and address of the repair contractor and any warrantees or guarantees for the repair. Again, if it’s a serious repair, I would hire my own contractor to evaluate the repair.
(3) Monetary compensation for a repair should never be a guestimate. Call in an independent contractor to give exact cost on the repair. Many times you can get a free estimate from a licensed contractor for the necessary repairs.

THE REPAIR INSPECTION
(1) Paper work - The lawyers letter stating the agreed upon repairs, the home inspection report, the disclosure report and the Realtor’s MLS listing. These four documents should be evaluated at home and have a master list made of what is being repaired and the items the seller has agreed to be included in the sale. With a master list, when you arrive for the inspection, you’ll know where and what to look for and all the items that have to be addressed. While on the subject of paper work, did the seller have any work done that required a township permit. If so, did he obtain a permit and supply certification to your attorney that a permit was obtained and the repairs or additions meet code. When conducting the actual inspection it’s wise to inspect first the items on the master list. I say this because time will be short and you want to address the important items first.
(2) Admittance and Keys - Make sure the seller or the realtor has the keys to the house, garage, storage shed or any other area that may be locked .
(3) Flashlight and Camera - Bring a flash light to see in the dark areas and a camera to take photos of the following: (a) all appliances that are include in the sale as a record of the make, style and condition. It’s not unheard of for a seller to change his mind about leaving a good appliance and substituting it with a cheaper model or removing it completely
(b) Hallways and banisters are many times damaged from moving heavy furniture down the stairs.
( c) Photos should also be taken of the sidewalks by the driveway, and the sidewalk leading up to the front porch or the front steps. These areas are also very susceptible to damage from a heavy moving van truck backed up to the front door for loading. In other words, it’s wise to take as many pictures of the house and property as possible as a record of condition at the time of contract..
(4) Debris - Take a photo of all debris that should be removed, particularly under the deck, crawl space if any and the porch. These three areas are great places to throw debris and old wood.
(5) Security Alarm and Sprinkler System - Don’t wait until the final walk through to learn how to work the security alarm. Obtain from the seller the phone number of the security alarm company so you can get instruction as to how to set and operate the system and how to change the pass word.
(6) Sprinkler System - It’s a must that you get the phone number of the company maintaining the sprinkler system for two reasons. First, you may have to contact the company for instructions on how to operate the controls and set the operational times. Second, if the property is located in an cold climate, the under ground water lines must be purged of all water before the cold weather. Any water left in the lines in cold weather could freeze and damage the lines. We recommend that you obtain a contract from a sprinkler service company that will automatically purge the lines at a certain preset time. That way you know the job will be done without you having to call the company for the fall maintenance line purge.
(7) Fences - Take photos of the fence particularly the fence in the front section of the house. Many time the fence in this area is damaged by the moving truck or, removed for easy truck loading access and the fence section was never put back.

FINAL WALK THROUGH INSPECTION - MAKE SURE ITEMS
 ▪ Sellers forwarding address
 ▪ Your flashlight and camera
 ▪ Master list of repairs and items included in the sale
 ▪ Realtor has all keys to the property

EXTERIOR INSPECTION
Inspect all the exterior condition of the house and property, particularly the items mentioned earlier in this article. Items such as, sidewalks, front porch or steps, fence, and debris around the property that was supposed to be removed.

INTERIOR INSPECTION
After the items on the master list is inspected, the following areas should be inspected:

GARAGE
 ▪ How is the overall condition.
 ▪ Garage - Is there any stored items left in the garage that are supposed to be removed.
 ▪ Try the automatic door opener, does it open and close properly, and make sure the remote controllers are delivered to you at the closing.

ENTRANCE HALL
 ▪ Check the overall condition, try all lights and inspect all windows in every room.
 ▪ Check the floor covering for damage particularly if it’s a tile floor. Also inspect the stairs, walls and banister for damage from the moving of heavy furniture.

KITCHEN
 ▪ Check the appliances: are they the ones that were included in the sale?
 ▪ Is the tile floor damaged from the moving of the refrigerator or other heavy items?
 ▪ Light the stove, run the dishwasher and test the water and sink for leaks.
 ▪ Check the overall condition of the cabinets, the lights, the fan if any, and the window over the sink.

LIVING, DINING, BEDROOMS AND ALL OTHER ROOMS
 ▪ When inspecting a room, walk in and just stand still inside the doorway. A person standing still and looking at the floor, walls and ceiling will see more than a person walking around in the room.
 ▪ The entrance door and the closet doors should all close easy and latch properly and check both sides of the door for damage.
 ▪ Check the windows for cracked or broken glass and whether or not they go up and down easy. Also check and see if there are any screens missing or damaged.
 ▪ See if the wall to wall carpeting is damaged or if the hard wood floors have been are scratched or damaged by the movers.

BATHROOMS
 ▪ First check the home inspectors report, there is always bathroom maintenance or repair problems noted even if it’s only to seal and caulk around the tub tiles.
 ▪ Flush the toilet and check the sink water flow and the sink drain for leaks
 ▪ Very important is the sliding bathtub doors, the shower doors and the condition of the tile sealer grout around the shower floor pan.
 ▪ Does the door close and lock, also, look under any bathroom rugs for tile floor damage?

ATTIC AREA
 ▪ Never enter an un-floored attic and never inspect an attic by yourself in case of an accident. It’s real easy to get a cut, a splinter or bump your head in an attic area. The first thing that should be addressed is whether or not your attorney received certification from the sellers that any agreed upon repair work was completed. In a floored attic, make sure all storage has been removed. It’s expensive to get rid of attic storage. There is one repair item if present, preferably should be addressed before closing, and that is the discharge point of the bathroom ventilation fan. A bathroom ventilation fan that vents into the attic and not the exterior of the house can cause mold. For safety and insurance reasons, home inspectors are not allowed to enter un-floored attics without temporary flooring which is beyond the scope of a home inspection. In other words, if the attic is not floored, the vent discharge verification is excluded from the inspection. If your attic is not floored and the home inspector could not determine the discharge point of the vent fan, we recommend that you ask the seller for professional certification that the vent discharges to the exterior. If the seller will not verify the discharge point, we recommend that you hire a professional contractor with temporary flooring, to enter the attic and verify whether or not the vent discharges to the exterior of the dwelling.

BASEMENT
 ▪ The basement is an area of special attention. The furnace, the plumbing and most of the electrical system is located in the basement, not to mention the foundation and main wood support structure. In this area, inspect first the items on your master list and then look real close for any water penetration.
 ▪ Utilities - Turn on the heat to make sure the furnace is functional. Then if the temperature permits, test the central air conditioner, don’t run the a/c unless the temperature is over 65 degrees. As per the manufacture, to run the unit under 65 degrees could damage the unit.
 ▪ Storage - Make sure all storage is removed, to pay for storage removal from the basement or attic is very expensive
 ▪ Sump pump - This may sound crazy but check the sump pump to make sure it’s still in the sump well and still connected electrically. I know a lady that thought she had a sump pump as a back up in case of heavy rain causing a high water level. Well, one week after she moved in the whole basement flooded causing serious expensive damage. It seems that the seller, in spite of the contract agreement , simply removed the pump and rode off into the sunset.

VACANT HOUSE INSPECTION
Some special precautions should be taken to do a walk through of a vacant house.
 ▪ First make sure that all the utilities are turned on and functional.
 ▪ Bring extra flashlights and if possible a powerful search light, vacant houses are usually very dark.
 ▪ If the furnace and hot water heater won’t light because the pilot light is out,
don’t try to light it. It may be turned off for safety reasons.
 ▪ Look very carefully before entering the basement, if the sump pump is non- functional, the basement could be flooded.