Home Inspection in Los Angeles: Tips for New Homebuyers

As a new homebuyer, you want to be very careful with your choices. It is important to do your best from the start of the buying process, and this is often a home inspection. In order to help you out, we’ve prepared a guide on home inspection in Los Angeles: tips for new homebuyers!

Find a home inspector you can trust

As a new homebuyer, you won’t have much experience with home appraisal. As such, the first of our tips for home inspection in Los Angeles is to hire a professional you know you can rely on. The best way to do this is by asking for references and checking out reviews. Just like when you’re trying to choose a painting contractor, it is important to account for the person’s past accomplishments. If past customers say that the home inspector you are interested in is patient, thorough, and willing to explain things during the inspection, then they’re an amazing choice. On the other hand, you want to avoid people who just breeze through the home inspection and leave you waiting for the report to get any feedback.

Try to attend the home inspection

The next of our tips for home inspection in Los Angeles as a new homebuyer is to attend the inspection. You might not have a lot to contribute, but this is still the place you are thinking about owning. You want to be familiar with both its pros and cons. And actually being present during an inspection can direct your attention to things you hadn’t considered before. This lets you view the property under a new light, and really helps you decide whether you want to commit to a purchase.

Pay attention to signs of water damage

Now, Los Angeles is an overwhelmingly sunny state. In addition to that, the weather stays relatively dry throughout the year. Even recent rainfall evaporated relatively quickly. So, if you notice obvious signs during a home inspection, or if your inspector points them out to you, this can only mean one of two things. First that the home hasn’t had much maintenance done to it. This can be very bad, since it points to a host of potential hidden issues. The second is a serious problem with the plumbing. And you want to purchase such a home even less than one whose owners slacked on maintenance!

Never overlook old, worn outlets and fixtures

You can do a lot to pretty up a home and make it look nearly brand new. A single layer of paint can make a stark difference, after all. And even an inexperienced home seller knows that aesthetic appeal is important. As such, most people at least try to cover up the flaws of their property and boost its price this way. You don’t want to pay more than you have to, especially considering how high Los Angeles house prices are. Well, the best way to spot such cover-ups is the state of the home’s outlets and fixtures. If you see they are cracked and old while everything else looks brand new, then you know it’s just a glow up. Unless you want to scramble for storage in Los Angeles looking for a unit for excess furniture while you fix up room after room, avoid such homes.

Check for signs of problems with the home’s foundation

One of the most expensive things to fix is a home’s foundation. This is why during a home inspection in Los Angeles you need to be on the lookout for signs there’s something wrong with it. The best way to spot this problem easily are cracks along window and door frames, as well as the ‘edges’ of walls. The cracks are a sign that the home’s foundation is damaged and its condition is placing pressure on the house. This will also make the windows and doors fit awkwardly into their frames, causing drafts and other problems. And even if you hire the best handyman possible, this is not something they could fix. It would take a lot of serious remodeling to get a foundation sorted out.

The problem of infestations

Due to the weather in Los Angeles, infestations become a concern. Particularly rodent and termite infestations. Obviously, neither of these things are something you want in a home you are planning to move into. Thankfully, signs of both are relatively easy to spot, and an experienced home inspector will never miss them. Even if the property’s owner cleans up droppings, wood dust and similar that can reveal the presence of these pests, the damage to the home still gives them away. If you are set on buying a home with a mild infestation, the moving and storage experts from royalmovingco.com recommend not moving in until it’s sorted. Even if your belongings are perfectly packed up, pests such as these can still get into the packaging and damage them.

The roof is extremely important

The amazing Los Angeles weather might lead you to believe you can be more lenient with roof condition than in some other states. This is not the case at all, and you need to make sure the roof is in the best condition possible. Any sort of sagging in the roof can be a sign of serious structural problems. And even if it’s just a few leaks, you will need to shell out serious money in order to fix them! Roof repair is always expensive, not least because you need to find the best roofing company possible to avoid accidents and even further damage to your roof. Note, too, that if your home inspector says that your roof is currently safe but not in great condition, you should listen and give up on the purchase. It doesn’t rain often in Los Angeles, but newly developed leaks are never fun!

Look for plumbing problems

The final of our tips on home inspection in Los Angeles is to pay special attention to plumbing. You can do a lot to detect the state of a home’s plumbing on your own. Just run some water, and gauge how quickly it drains away. If the water drains slowly, it’s often a sign of problems. At the same time, avoid, if possible, homes whose kitchen and bathroom are filled with odd sewer smells. You don’t want to mess with faulty plumbing, since such repairs are very lengthy and expensive.

Taking care of a home inspection in Los Angeles

If you follow the advice in our guide to home inspection in Los Angeles: tips for new homebuyers, you should be able to ensure a solid home purchase! On the other hand, ignoring red flags can easily result in some serious buyer’s regret. So, weigh your options carefully, and note that we discourage purchases of fixer-uppers. Their renovation always costs more than you first think.