do you guys usually do your own Home inspection or pay for it? it usually cost around $400, which is pricy. i am just wondering there are any other ways around it.
thanks
You’re right, $400 is pricy. Is that the best bid you could find? Maybe it’s just expensive in your area. I use the same inspector on all of my deals and he charges me $200. Hope this helps.
But can you do your own home inspections? I am thinking about taking a course, paying an inspector would cut into my profits.
REO_NEWBIE,
If the cost of a home inspection will break your deal, then the deal is too thin to do in the first place.
I Agree Dave T…
Denny:
300 houses later and I never paid for a home inspection. As a matter of fact, I typically take no longer than 10 minutes to inspect a house I am going to buy. I do however estimate an average of $8k - $10k for rehab on my properties that need only carpet and paint on the interior and paint and basic landscaping on the exterior. When you do a rehab, you are opening a can of worms. So you need to be prepared for the worst. This is the biggest mistake I see new investors make is they estimate $2500.00 for paint and carpet and once they get into the rehab, they realize what the actual costs are.
Keep in mind, I am on the West Coast. I am dealing in houses built 1960 to present.
I started out 10 years ago with a mentor bidding on houses at the HUD Auctions. We would look at 50-60 houses a day. My education to inspecting and estimating rehab was on the ‘Fast-track’. I did buy houses that were on septic that I had to hook up to the sewer because they were within 100’ of the connection. I did buy houses with ‘absestos’ siding that had to be removed by a licensed company and disposed of properly. I did buy houses that had ‘dutch-lap’ roofs that had to be stripped and had ‘space sheathing’ underneath which had to be re-sheated with plywood. I did buy houses that had illegal room additions that had to be torn down! All of these instances were deals that cut into my profits. I remember the time when I bought a house and in the backyard it had a plasic fitting sticking out in the back-yard? When I asked my real-estate agent what it was, she said it was just the ‘leach line’ that leads to the septic tank. I knew there was no sewer nearby, so I felt I was safe. Guess what, the septic tank was made out of brick which by FHA standards and the EPA not to be legal. I had to relocate the septic tank and back-fill the old one and have it inspected by the city. This was a $5k seminar I attended on septic tanks. Don’t make the same mistake I made. Make sure to always get septic certification and verify that the tank meets current building codes. Also, verify there is not a sewer connection nearby. These were all lessons learned. Trust me, you will have yours as well!
Again, all of these lessons are part of the game! My best advice to you would be maybe pay a home-inspector a couple hundred bucks to assist you on your first couple deals. I would also be present so you can see what to watch out for. There are also some great bootcamps on rehabbing that you could also attend. As well as some courses on this site that will help you immensely on rehabbing.
Best Regards,
Jeff Adam
i have thought about getting a contractor or very good handyman to do the initial walkthrough with me since i am not handy at all. i figure either one could tell me whether or not the the house is even worth buying the house at all. what does every one else think of this idea?