Those of you who have bought a house know that the inspection can make or break the deal.  Tom and I got our inspection scheduled for Monday, July 13.  We went with the inspection company recommended by our realtor – 360 Home Services – because we met the guy who owned it and he seemed very thorough.

Kenny Jackson, the owner and inspector, came out to the house that Monday afternoon.  We met him along with the seller of the house, Christine.  Since the house is “for sale by owner” she has been there every time we have.

Kenny has a routine.  He always starts with all the outside stuff and then moves to the inside.  That way he has a routine and doesn’t forget to do something.  He climbed up on the roof and looked closely at the siding.  He walked around the house and checked out the foundation, the decks, the gutters, and the soffits.  Tom walked around with him and asked him questions, which Kenny was good about answering.

Inside the inspection continued with examining the crawl space and attic.  Kenny started the dishwasher and made sure the heating and cooling and water heater systems were working correctly.  He turned all the burners on the stove on at the same time.  Because the house is all-electric, that caused quite a glow in the kitchen.  He made sure both the ovens work and tried the water in both bathrooms.  He checked every outlet in the house and found one that wasn’t working in the garage.

After three hours he set up the radon testing machine and prepared to leave.  The next day we received his report.  To find out what it said . . .

No, I won’t do that to you today.  The report was fine.  There were a few electrical safety issues that the owner remedied immediately.  We also noticed, while we were there, that the air conditioner had water running on the floor.  Kenny suspected a clogged drain pipe.  The owner got someone over to fix it the next day.

Everything else was a maintenance issue that Tom and I feel qualified to handle.  When the house is 35 years old, it needs a little fixing up here and there.  Nothing major and nothing that has to be done immediately.  Radon was a little high, but Tom thinks that was because the house has been closed up without anyone living there since October.  We will get a monitor and test it again.

With the inspection finished, most everything else is paperwork.  We will wait to see about mortgage approval, and the title search.  Hopefully everything will go smoothly and we can close as scheduled.