All Buyers Should Get a Home Inspection

I woke up this morning and smiled. Not only was it not snowing -- no school delays or closings after all -- but it was raining steadily.

I love the rain.

I had a home inspection for a buyer in Manayunk today and, as I wish for on every home inspection day, it rained. I’m not a big fan of standing in the rain, and certainly have never been one to sing in the rain, but a home inspection in the rain allows the inspector to really get a good look at any water penetration issues that a home may have, and really tells a buyer whether or not the basement is dry.

I use that phrase intentionally because as Howard Shanker from Apex Inspections likes to say (and explained today), “there’s no such thing as a waterproof wall, or a dry basement.” Truth be told, today’s basement was pretty dry. No standing water (“in-ground pool” in Realtor parlance), but as Howie always points out, concrete and stone leach ground water and at the very least add humidity to every basement.

In addition to uncovering basement problems, rain water is quick to illuminate other issues with a home: clogged down spouts and gutters, leaky roofs, leaky windows, exterior drainage concerns, clogged sewer lines (in some urban areas run off from the roof, as well as the discharge from sump pumps is collected into drains and fed into the sewers causing them to back up in heavy rains) – the list goes on and on. Apart from fire, or maybe termites, water can cause more damage to a home than any other external factor.

During the home buying process, buyer’s typically have the option of having a licensed home inspector review all of the systems within a home – structural, plumbing, roofing, electrical, etc. Inspectors are generalists. They look for safety concerns and overall functionality issues, but are not experts (usually) in one specific area – like HVAC systems. They also are not code-enforcement officers and do not use municipal building codes as their yard stick for evaluation.
The home inspection is paid for by the buyer, and can be the basis in some cases to negotiate for the seller to make repairs to the home, or in some cases terminate the transaction. I tell all homebuyers that they should not expect to get any concessions at all after a home inspection and that they should be comfortable with the negotiated terms as they stand. That said, if the inspection truly brings to the fore an issue, or issues that were not expected, buyers should not be shy about trying to see if repairs can be made by the seller or in lieu of those repairs if they can be compensated. Regardless, money spent for a home inspection or inspections is not refundable.

Gooey Looie’s
Somehow today the subject of cheesesteaks came up and Howie, posed the “what’s your favorite” question. I noted that I am not a Pat’s vs. Geno’s guy (for non-Philadelphia area residents both of these South Philadelphia institutions build sandwiches with thinly sliced beef (with or without grilled onions) layered with cheese on a hoagie roll) but instead I am a big fan of a lunch truck in University City (Sophie’s) and in the suburbs, am partial to the Hungry A in Broomall. Turns out that Howie also thinks the Pat’s/Geno’s debate is for out-of-towners, and that although he lived around the corner from Cosmi’s (see Savoring South Philly), his favorite cheesesteak comes from a Pennsport deli called Gooey Looie’s at Moyamensing & Moore. Perhaps on my next rainy day inspection in Pennsport I will taste for myself!