Buying a home may be the biggest investment you will likely make in your lifetime - and hiring a certified and qualified home inspector will increase the odds that you’ll make a good investment, especially if you are buying an older home.

However, most homeowners spend only about 15 minutes looking at a home before they put in an offer! So say experts in this HGTV video:

In the real estate industry, a home inspection is common practice, although not yet a regulated industry everywhere in Canada. The majority of home purchase contracts will include a home inspection as a condition on the sale - but you must request this condition.

A home inspection involves a visual inspection of the structure and components of a home to search for items that are not performing correctly or items that are unsafe. Inspection should include:

• Heating system
• Central air conditioning system
• Interior plumbing
• Electrical systems
• Roof
• Attic
• Overall structual integrity
• All visible insulation
• Walls, ceilings and floors
• Windows and doors
• Ceilings
• Foundation
• Basement
• Ventilation
• Septic tank or sewer connection
• Well and water pump, or water lines
• Detached buildings, such as garages and workshops
• Driveway
• Drainage on the lot
• Common areas (in the case of condos)
• Appliances

The Inspection as a Tool for Re-negotiation

Be sure to get a written report, with photos, from the home inspector.  Review the inspection report with your real estate representative and make a list of items you think should be addressed before the sale of the home.

Even though the inspection is not meant to be a tool for re-negotiations, many times it becomes one. All homes have problems and every problem has a solution. Solutions vary from a simple fix of the problem to adjusting the purchase price.

You may be trying to save yourself $250 to $300 for the cost of an inspection but - to put it in the words of fellow realtor, Brendan Clemmens - does your Uncle Joe really know enough about home inspection??

Helen Padar is a sales representative with Century 21 Miller Real Estate Ltd. in Okaville, Ontario.