After calling the home inspector, another person reminded me that HUD does their own inspections of their foreclosed properties. The link on the HIUD site is no longer active, so I can't see the report for myself. I emailed my RE agent to see if she could get it for me. Based on whether I can get the report, and if it isn't too old, I may forgo an inspection altogether.
For one, it's another $375 out of my pocket for the inspection. On top of that, I learned from my agent that I will need to get the utilities xferred into my name for a day or two. This means not only calling the utilities one by one, but also possibly paying a deposit for one or more of them. Couple that with the usage, and I could be out another $100 easy.
So now I'm weighing whether to save about $400 for an inspection (I should get my deposit back, but I still have to fork it over upfront), or rely on HUD's inspection. Of course, all this hinges on whether there is a report, if I can get it, and how old it is.
Part of me is saying spend the $400 for piece of mind, but another part is saying to pocket the money and use HUD's report (especially since the home is only a couple years old).
Decisions, decisions, decisions.
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4 comments:
I would see who did the HUD inspection. If it was recent and done by an actual home inspector, I'd use it. If it was just done by the listing agent walking through and noting stuff, get your own inspections. Look at it this way - whoever buys the house from you will be getting their own inspection done. Better to find out any problems now and fix them then while in escrow!
Yeah. Like the old saying "You can pay me now, or you can pay me later." Still haven't heard from my RE agent. In the meantime, I ran some numbers and figure a positive cashflow and an IRR of 56% if renting. But then I'm still trying to figure this tool out, so that may be wrong. :-P
Yeah, $375. This was a high amount, though, and includes a $75 termite inspection. He added in whirpool tub and a sprinkler system (which I'm not sure is installed), so it could be a little less ($50-$75). My reason for getting this guy is because he is top-notch. He spends 3-4 hours on average and goes over everything with a fine-tooth comb. My in-laws recommended him because he found things other inspectors missed - difficult AND simple things. AHHHH! More decisions. But I lke these types of decisions. :)
Thanks Mike. The more I ponder the situation, the more I am leaning towards getting an inspector myself. I signed the docs at my agent's office ate yesterday, along with submitting a couple more offers, and she gave me a list of three local inspectors who charge a lot less. I'll probably use one of them.
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