Spring and summer tend to be good months for homes to sell, compared to a slower winter market, but even that longtime trend doesn’t fully tell the story of how quickly homes seem to be changing hands. One can see just by driving down the roadways that properties aren’t staying on the market that long. A real estate sign goes up and it doesn’t tend to be long before a ‘sold’ sticker has been mounted to it.

We’re not quite yet looking at some of the rather insane bidding wars that are increasingly characterizing the market in desirable areas. Such bidding wars have pushed prospective bidders to, in some cases, engage in risky buying practices, such as not getting a home inspection before the purchase goes through.

In spite of the continuing red-hot market, at least one home inspector was quoted this week saying he’s actually had a significant drop in business over the last year, as people are too afraid to attach any kind of condition to their purchase offer for fear of putting themselves out of the running.

Getting an inspection from a reputable professional can end up saving a buyer a lot of grief.

And a lot of money.

In the worst case scenario, you could wind up with a home with serious deficiencies that you could be on the hook to pay for.

Everything from the roof to the furnace, the foundation to the wiring are key elements that most laypeople wouldn’t necessarily even notice.

While you’re worried about paint colors and the possibility of putting in new hardwood, your home inspector really gets down to the nuts and bolts of how the house is built.

There are limitations, of course, as nobody can start opening up walls and ceilings, but a good inspector will notice things that the average home buyer would walk right past.

Source: http://www.cowichanvalleycitizen.com