A Quick Guide to Home Inspection: Avoiding Future Home Horrors

The horrors of the property industry are not limited to haunted houses and shady real estate agents. Real estate is rich with its own kind of horror, albeit a more mundane one. Here’s a quick guide to the home inspection process to avoid future home horrors.

Unlike in the United States where it’s a legitimate business, there is no professional home inspection service in the Philippines. A quick google search for the terms “home inspection philippines” or “home inspection service philippines” turns up nothing useful on page one. On an expat forum, a user asked if anyone knows of such service, but was referred instead to getting an engineer for consultation. (Attention entrepreneurs: this lack has the makings of a good business, don’t you think?)

Perhaps the nearest professional to a home inspector in the local industry is a real estate appraiser who may consider largely different things when determining the value of a property. In the absence of such a service, it’s good to have an idea of what things to keep an eye on, along with potential issues you can ask your broker or agent during a home viewing, especially if you’re shopping for pre-owned homes.

Exteriors

Walls

Cracks, unevenness, or holes are symptoms of a house with a not quite sound foundation or worse, an insect or rodent infestation. If you’re noise-conscious, examine wall thickness as they indicate how solid the house is built. This applies especially for condos and apartments, where the common walls give a clue on their soundproofing capacity.

Roof

Admittedly, checking the roof for damage is not that easy, which precisely why it’s crucial not to overlook it as it can be easily missed from ground level. When inspecting a house, be sure to ask help for a roof inspection. Bring a camera and a ladder if you have to. If it’s a pre-owned home, ask the broker or previous owners it had leak problems due to poor roof installation, weathering, or other damage.

Elevation

Flooding is a common problem in our tropical climate. Make sure the home you’re eyeing to buy is elevated enough or located in a flood-free area. Check the Department of Science and Technology’s Project NOAH (Nationwide Operational Assessment Hazard) to see if your potential home location is in danger of flooding or in a flood-free area in the city.

Locks/Gates

Security and safety are big factors to keep in mind during home inspection. If you’re inspecting a house, be sure it has a gate and door locks that are hard to break into. With condos, lobbies with concierge, tight security, and CCTV cameras are preferable. Invest in and install a private home security system if you need to.

Interiors

Indoor wiring can get pretty complicated. Be sure you have a professional electrician to help you out.

Electrical

Avoid the dangers of electrocution, electric shock or burn, and fire hazards due to faulty wiring, defective outlets, and poor circuitry design. Have a professional electrician test out outlets and identify electrical hazards.

Plumbing

Because the plumbing system is mostly unseen, plumbing problems can be like ghosts; you won’t notice them until something unpleasant or downright scary happens. Common issues to check are pipe leaks, clogged drains, and unnatural water pressure. A damaged plumbing system can turn the mundane task of flushing the toilet into a nightmare.

Flooring

Your new home flooring should be solid and durable. Inspect if the flooring sags, makes a lot of unnatural squeaky noises, or has uneven parts which can cause accidents. Flooring jobs can be hugely expensive, time-consuming, and of course, inconvenient.

Ventilation

Unless you want to live in an inferno or smell like your home-cooked meals, you’d also want to check the house ventilation system. A kitchen and dining area with windows or dedicated vents can defuse the buildup of gas, smoke, chemical contaminants, and prevent mold or bacterial growth that may cause health or comfort problems. In terms of energy efficiency, a house with good airflow distribution can reduce your Meralco bill.

Ideally, home inspection is a systematic and comprehensive examination of its features to identify and prevent hazards. Its findings can greatly help you determine if you’ll want to push through with the sale or not. In short, they can make or break a deal. You might have to do it more than once and it can get expensive if you’re consulting professionals. However, a thorough home inspection that saves you a lot of future horrors is well worth an investment.