Are you looking to buy a home in Spokane but wondering what kinds of things you need to know about a home before pulling the trigger?
In this blog post, I’m going to share with you the three inspections you should always get when buying a home in Spokane so you can make an educated decision on which home you move forward with and feel confident in your choice from both a financial and safety perspective.
And be sure to read to the end for the one inspection that most people don’t know you need in Spokane, since it is fairly specific to the area, but is super important for protecting the health of your family.
Home Structural Inspection
The first inspection I recommend is the structural inspection, which is just your basic home inspection that most people are familiar with.
You, the buyer, hire a licensed inspector to check out the home’s foundation, structural components, roof, HVAC, plumbing, and electrical systems. This inspection typically takes between 2 and 4 hours depending on the size and age of the home and the inspector provides you with a very detailed written report afterward. This inspection typically costs around $400-600.
It’s a good idea to attend the tail end of this inspection. This will give you the opportunity to walk through the house with the inspector to be able to explore the home in more detail and ask questions about anything the inspector has flagged as a potential issue.
We are seeing more and more buyers waiving the home inspection right now in order to be competitive with their offers, but I really don’t recommend you do this. Spokane has a lot of older homes and these older homes can have costly issues, which are not often obvious as you walk through the house but that may have you regretting your purchase decision after it’s too late.
Sewer Inspection
The sewer inspection is one inspection that buyers overlook far too often when buying a Spokane home but can result in you spending some serious dough on very not fun repairs.
Spokane has many neighborhoods with beautiful tree lined streets and towering evergreens, and these mature tree roots can find their way into the sewer lines, causing significant damage and costly repairs. Older lines can also have issues from the material the pipe was made out of or just wear and tear over time.
But even if you’re buying a newer home, I still recommend getting a sewer inspection. It typically only costs around $150 and about a half hour to get the inspection done, and is a 1000% worth the piece of mind you’ll get.
For the sewer inspection, an inspector will snake a camera from the waste pipes in your home to where they connect with the main lines in the street. The camera records the state of the sewer line, which can help you understand if there are any cracks, off-sets, tree root intrusions, collapsed lines, clogs or other problems.
A full sewer line replacement could cost you upwards of $15,000-$20,000, and even repairs to a fraction of the line could set you back a few thousand dollars and tear up your yard, so it’s definitely something you want to know about and factor into your buying decision.
Radon Inspection
A radon inspection is another inspection that not enough homebuyers are getting but I think is critical when buying a Spokane home, especially when it comes to keeping your family safe. It’s a little known fact that Spokane has some of the highest levels of radon in the country due to the amount of uranium and radium in the soil. Radon is a colorless, odorless and naturally-occurring gas and the problem with high concentrations of it is that it has been linked to higher rates of lung cancer. Radon levels are usually highest in the basement of a home and can fluctuate depending on the season.
The radon inspection typically takes about 48 hours – the inspector will set up the equipment in the basement of the home, allow it to monitor the levels for two days and then report back a measure of the average levels detected.
Some home inspectors offer radon inspections as an add-on service or you can hire a specialized radon mitigation company. A radon inspection costs around $150 and a radon mitigation system will set you back around $1500-$2000.
Newer homes in Spokane will typically have radon mitigation systems already installed but this is something you should definitely double check when purchasing.
So that wraps up the 3 inspections I highly recommend you get when buying a Spokane home.
While I obviously think it’s important to do your due diligence, do keep in mind that no home is going to be perfect and each will have its issues, so you need to weigh the pros of the home with the potential costs and move forward with what feels right.
If you have any questions about inspections, buying a home or anything else, please leave a comment below or schedule a free consultation.
