subject: Buying Foreclosed Homes For Sale: The Home Inspection [print this page] Buying foreclosed homes for sale is a serious business. Most of the time, the property is not in its pristine condition as the original owner was busy trying to avoid foreclosure. Of course, you cannot deny how cheap these homes are and if you managed to choose one which requires little repair, you will certainly enjoy huge profit.
Inspecting the foreclosed home is something that you need to do before you even make an offer. Smart buyers, who would like to minimize cost, have learned to do the initial inspection themselves before hiring a professional inspector. If you are not yet skilled at checking out foreclosed homes for sale, consider the following tips.
Making a Checklist
To make sure your home inspection is organized, you need to make a checklist. You can start with the exterior of the home and move towards the interior. Your checklist should include at least three choices for each area: very good, fair and poor. You can even leave a space under each item for comments and notes.
Your checklist should also be as detailed as possible. For instance, if you are planning on checking the basement, you should include details such as evidence of seepage, wall cracks, lighting, staircase and floor slab. If you want, you can create a separate or enhanced checklist for areas of the property such as the exterior topography, landscaping and siding condition.
Purpose of the Checklist
You have to keep in mind the purpose of the checklist is to provide you with a rough idea on the condition of the property. If your initial inspection yielded costly problems, then you should think twice about purchasing the property. On the other hand, few problems areas do not mean you should make an offer immediately. You can choose to do two things: talk to the owner or hire a professional inspector. Most sellers of foreclosed homes for sale would tell you the problems but there are those who choose not do so or are not aware there are any. So, to be on the safe side, get the help of professionals.
