Home Inspection--Why You Should Have a HVAC Technician Also

I came from an office meeting today and a light bulb went off in my head. I admit I am just as guilty as probably most agents out there are of this oversight. You have found the home you want and have negotiated and agreed upon acceptable terms with the seller. So,now your agent gives you a list of three or four home inspectors they trust. You do your diligence and talk with them all and select one to do your home inspection.

A good home inspector will spend an average of about four hours going through the home. Maybe more or less depending on the size of the home. You get the report from him that evening or the next morning. You look it over and go over it with you agent. You agree on what repairs you want done before you move into the house. The seller agrees and does the necessary repairs needed prior to your closing. A few months after you moved in you find the heating system or the air conditioning is not working properly. Now what? If you do not have a home warranty you will have to pay to have it repaired. As we all know that cost can be very high.

Well today we were talking and off the top of my head I suggested bringing an HVAC person ut to do a separate inspection on the heating and air. A good home inspector will be able to in the winter time tell you if the heat is working properly and in the summer time tell you if the A/C is working properly. However; they cannot tell if the A/C is working in the middle of the winter. The same with the heat in the middle of a heat wave. But a HVAC person can. They can give you information about that system because that is all they do all each and everyday. They went to school to specialize on working with heating and air conditioning units.

Depending on where you live, the cost is going to be in the $350.00 to $450.00 range for a home inspection. For peace of mind is it worth another $60.00 to $80.00 to have someone come out and tell you the heating and A/C unit are okay or needs xyz repairs?

With a home being the largest investment you are going to make in your lifetime; do you not want to be sure you are getting all the facts and information about the condition of the house before you sign those papers? I know I am recommending to EVERY one of my buyers to have a qualified HVAC person come out and inspect the system. That is additional peace of mind for buyers.

Dave diCecco
Realtor/Agent
www.davedicecco.com