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 Mobile ViewHOME & BUILDING INSPECTORS & INSPECTION METHODS AGE of a BUILDING - how to determine AIR CONDITIONING & HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS ALUMINUM WIRING HAZARDS & REPAIRS ANIMAL ENTRY POINTS in buildings ANIMAL ODORS IN buildings ARCHITECTURE & BUILDING COMPONENT ID ASBESTOS FLOOR TILE IDENTIFICATION ASBESTOS REMOVAL, Amateur, Incomplete Asbestos Removal, Certification ASBESTOS REMOVAL GUIDE, FLOORING ASBESTOS REMOVAL, Wetting Guidelines ASBESTOS RISK ASSESSMENT ASHI American Society of Home Inspectors ASHI Certification of Home Inspectors ATTORNEYS and EXPERT WITNESSES ATTIC LEAKS, CONDENSATION & ATTIC MOLD ATTIC VENTILATION BASEMENT CEILING VAPOR BARRIER BASEMENT HEAT LOSS BUILDING SAFETY HAZARDS GUIDE BUILDING SETTLEMENT CHIMNEY INSPECTION DIAGNOSIS REPAIR CHIMNEY INSPECTION & REPAIR GUIDE CHINESE DRYWALL HAZARDS CRAWL SPACES CRAWL SPACE SAFETY ADVICE DECK & PORCH CONSTRUCTION DECK COLLAPSE Case Study DECK FINISHES COATINGS PRESERVATIVES DECK FLASHING LEAKS, ROT Case Study DIRECTORY of BUILDING INSPECTORS Disasters: Building Inspection & Repair Safety DRINKING WATER ELECTRICAL INSPECTION, DIAGNOSIS, REPAIR Electrical Inspection Safety ENERGY SAVINGS in buildings ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS - INSPECT, TEST, REMEDY EXTERIORS of buildings EXTERIOR WALL SIDING TRIM & FINISHES Fiberglass hazards in buildings FIBERGLASS INSULATION FIBERGLASS HAZARDS FIBERGLASS INSULATION MOLD Fire Clearances, Single-Wall Metal Flues FIREPLACES & HEARTHS FLASHING MEMBRANES PEEL & STICK FLASHING for METAL ROOFS FLASHING ROOF WALL DETAILS FLASHING ROOF-WALL SNAFU FLASHING SIDING DETAILS FLASHING WALL DETAILS FLASHING WOOD ROOF DETAILS FLOOD DAMAGE ASSESSMENT, SAFETY & CLEANUP FOUNDATION CRACKS & DAMAGE GUIDE FPE Stab-Lok HAZARDS & REPAIRS WEBSITE GAS PIPING, VALVES, CONTROLS GUTTERS & DOWNSPOUTS GLUES ADHESIVES, EXTERIOR CONSTRUCTION HEATING SYSTEMS HOME & BUILDING INSPECTORS & INSPECTION METHODS BUILDING INSPECTORS DIRECTORY BUILDING DEFECTS LISTS HOT WATER HEATERS HOUSE PARTS, DEFINITIONS INDOOR AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT GUIDE INSULATION IDENTIFICATION GUIDE INSULATION INSPECTION & IMPROVEMENT INTERIORS of buildings Journal of Light Construction - Index 1994 KIT HOMES, Aladdin, Sears, Wards, Others LEED GREEN BUILDING CERTIFICATION LEED Building Designation & IAQ LIGHTNING PROTECTION SYSTEMS LOG HOME GUIDE MANUALS & PARTS GUIDES - HVAC Mobile Home Inspection Guide MOISTURE CONTROL in buildings MOISTURE METER STUDY MOLD in buildings MOLD PREVENTION GUIDE MOLD RELATED ILLNESS GUIDE MOLD SAFETY WARNINGS MOLD SPRAYS, SEALANTS, PAINTS MOLD STANDARDS MOLD TESTING SERVICES MSDS Material Safety Data Sheets MVOCs & MOLDY MUSTY ODORS Nanomaterials Hazards NOISE / SOUND DIAGNOSIS & CURE ODORS & SMELLS DIAGNOSIS & CURE OIL TANK PIPING & PIPING DEFECTS OIL TANKS INSPECT LEAK TEST ABANDON REGS PAINT ANALYSIS, DIAGNOSTIC USES PAINT & STAIN GUIDE, EXTERIOR PAINT FALURE, DIAGNOSIS, CURE, PREVENTION PIPING IN buildings, Clogs Leaks Types PLASTER & BEAVERBOARD & DRYWALL PLASTER BULGES & PILLOWS PLASTER LATH, METAL PLASTER, LOOSE FALL HAZARDS PLASTER TYPE IDENTIFICATION PLUMBING SYSTEM INSPECT DIAGNOSE REPAIR PUSHMATIC - BULLDOG PANELS Reports: Checklists vs Narrative ROOFING INSPECTION & REPAIR ROOF VENTILATION SPECIFICATIONS SAFE DECK CONSTRUCTION GUIDE SAFETY HAZARDS & INSPECTIONS Safety for Building Inspectors SAFETY: Elderly & Veterans Home Safety SAFETY FOR ELECTRICAL INSPECTORS SAFETY HAZARDS GUIDE Safety for Septic Inspectors Sears Catalog kit homes - how to identify Septic System Safety Hazards SEPTIC SYSTEM INSPECT DIAGNOSE REPAIR SIDING, Sheathing Identification - Photo Guide SIDING, ALUMINUM SIDING, ASBESTOS CEMENT SHINGLES SIDING ASPHALT ROOF SHINGLES on WALLS SIDING ASPHALT SHINGLE or SHEET SIDING DAMAGE by SPLASHBACK SIDING EIFS & STUCCO SIDING, FIBER CEMENT SIDING HARDBOARD SIDING STEEL SIDING VINYL SIDING, WOOD PRODUCT CHOICES SIDING, WOOD INSTALLATION SIDING WOOD, FAILURES OVER FOAM BOARD SIDING WOOD, FLASHING DETAILS SIDING WOOD SHINGLE INSTALLATION SINKHOLES, WARNING SIGNS SLAB CRACK EVALUATION SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS Splits in Structural Wood Beams SQUARE-D RECALLS STAIN & BIODETERIORATION AGENT CATALOG STAINS on buildings - QUICK GUIDE STAIN DIAGNOSIS on BUILDING EXTERIORS STAIN DIAGNOSIS on BUILDING INTERIORS STAIN DIAGNOSIS on ROOFS STAIN DIAGNOSIS on STONE STAINS on INDOOR SURFACES: PHOTO GUIDE STAIRS, RAILINGS, LANDINGS, RAMPS STONE CLEANING METHODS STRESS SKIN INSULATED PANELS STRUCTURAL INSPECTIONS & DEFECTS TANK TYPES: WATER, OIL, EXPANSION, ALL THERMAL TRACKING Indicates Heat Loss VAPOR BARRIERS & HOUSEWRAP VAPOR CONDENSATION & BUILDING SHEATHING VENTILATION in buildings VISUAL PERCEPTION ERRORS WATER ENTRY in buildings WATER HEATERS WATER ODORS, CAUSE CURE WATER PRESSURE & FLOW MEASUREMENT WATER PUMPS, TANKS, TESTS, WELLS, REPAIRS WATER PUMPS & WELLS WATER QUANTITY IMPROVEMENT WATER SOFTENERS & CONDITIONERS WATER TEST CHOICES & WATER TEST FEES WATER TESTS, CONTAMINANTS, TREATMENT WATER TESTING ADVICE WATER TREATMENT EQUIPMENT CHOICES WELLS CISTERNS & SPRINGS WELL CLEARANCES WELL CHLORINATION SHOCKING PROCEDURE WIND ENERGY SYSTEMS WIND TURBINES & LIGHTNING WINDOWS & DOORS Wood Burning Boilers, Furnaces Fireplaces Stoves WOOD ROOF INSPECTION GUIDE ZINSCO / SYLVANIA HAZARDS More Information |
Home inspection costs, fees, and pro bono inspections: how much should you pay for a pre-purchase building inspection? InspectAPedia offers impartial, unbiased advice without conflicts of interest. We will block advertisements which we discover or readers inform us are associated with bad business practices, false-advertising, or junk science. our contact info is at InspectAPedia.com/Contact.htm.This brief article sums up Ruskin's views about getting one's money's worth when hiring someone to provide any service. There is the possible error of spending too much, which is easy to understand. The cost of spending too little is perhaps less obvious than one might first think. Our fee schedule diagnostic building inspections, environmental inspection and testing, and construction forensic lab or mold test laboratory services is available elsewhere at this website. We offer pro-bono services for elderly or disabled individuals, people of limited means, and for religious and certain other non-profit institutions. © Copyright 2012 InspectAPedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use page top links to major topics or use links at the left of each page to navigate within topics and documents at this website. Green links show where you are in a document series or at this website. John Ruskin had the following thoughts on prices and values and on how much to pay for something"It is unwise to pay too much, but it is unwise to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money; that is all. When you pay too little you sometimes lose everything. Because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing you bought it to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot. It cannot be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run and if you do that, you will have enough to pay for something better." Building & Building System Inspecting, Testing, & Consultant Referral Directories:
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about paying for a home inspectionQuestion: I can't afford to inspect the home we are about to buy. How about a free inspection?I am looking to buy my first home in Queens, NY. I began looking in Poughkeepsie, NY where I grew up, but high gas prices do not bode well for a commuter so I am forced to find a house closer to where I work (Rikers Island). I’ve finally found a home that I can afford in Cambria Heights, Queens – a 1935 brick cape, but it has a number of vertical and horizontal cracks in the brick, at the rear of the structure. I will need a 203K renovation loan for the other repairs but these cracks pose a serious concern as I have extremely limited funds for repairs. I have had people I know in the renovation business look at the house and they have recommended I obtain an engineer’s report – which I cannot afford. I need all my money for the down payment and closing. I don’t know if you are planning to be in NYC anytime soon or if you do pro bono work, but I would really appreciate your looking at the house and giving me your opinion on the cause of the cracks and the possible remedies. - Thanks [Name withheld] Reply: NEW HOME PURCHASE COST WARNING: can you really afford this house?At BUILDING INSPECTORS DIRECTORY you might find an inspector who, recognizing your tight finances, will offer a reduced or pro-bono inspection, but your question makes one question the advisability of buying any home in the price range you cite. With all due respect, based even on your email above, in my opinion it is probable that you can not afford to buy the home that you are describing. While many financial advisors agree that it can work well for a young family to "stretch" their finances when buying a first home, reasoning that incomes increase over time and house values often do too, those assumptions do not hold for everyone and certainly not in the case of "over-stretching" to buy a home. A person simply cannot buy a home whose purchase costs alone place the buyer so close to the limit of their resources that they cannot afford a professional inspection. Figure it this way: even a home in good condition is bound to require one or more costly repairs, changes, amendments in the first year of ownership by the new buyer. And also consider that it is very very unlikely that the brick cracking you cite at this home is the only problem; it may not even be the most serious or most costly or most dangerous problem. If you are so financially tight as to not even have a few hundred dollars in reserve to obtain an assessment of the condition of the property, you will certainly be unable to afford absolutely necessary repairs that come up. So what happens if in the first winter the boiler goes, or the roof leaks, or even a water heater fails? If the new owner cannot afford those repairs, the new purchase begins to deteriorate in condition and value, or the new owner has to go still deeper in debt just to try to hang on to the house - a losing battle. These Three "Ds" Define the True Cost of Buying a HomeThe true cost of a home is not just the purchase cost (house cost, lawyers fees, insurance fees, moving fees, etc.) but also those repairs that are absolutely needed to cover these three "D's":
Identifying those 3 D's is the essential object of a home inspection. If a buyer cannot afford the inspection, how in god's name is s/he going to afford to pay for the D's that come up? ... Questions & Answers regarding this articleQuestions & answers about for-pay home and building inspections for buyers or owners. Ask a Question or Search InspectAPediaHTML Comment Box is loading comments...
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