Here are some of the resources available:
1. Home Inspection Video - See a home inspection!
2. Read an actual home inspection report.
3. Read/search Barry Stone's column, Inspector's In the House (below).
4. Send a question using the form to the right. ===>
5. If you are a Seller, get your own inspection before you put your home on the market.

California does not require any license to be a home inspector, so it is important for both home buyers and sellers to make sure that they hire an inspector who is a certified residential inspector and who carries errors and omissions insurance. To help you think through the selection of your home inspector, click here for our 10 Tips.

QUESTIONS/ANSWERS Click on any of these topics to read questions and answers by syndicated columnist Barry Stone.
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As a buyer, you can be present on the home inspection (and we really recommend it). Being there gives you a chance to ask questions, to see and discuss what Mark has found, and to ask other questions about your new home. Some of the areas inspected include: structure, heating and cooling, roof, electrical system, plumbing and fixtures, attic, basement and/or crawl space, foundation, gutters, insulation, interior and exterior walls, porches and decks, and the water heater and appliances.

A good inspector helps both buyers and sellers become aware of any defects that weren't already known. (If they had been known, they would have been disclosed.) Please note: Sellers have no obligation to repair any defects. Repair requests are just that--requests. However, if an unknown defect is a safety issue, violates the then-current building code, or affects functionality, many sellers will accommodate the request in one way or another. A good inspection helps to put all those issues on the table so that everyone is satisfied with the transaction.

For information about various topics, just click on any of the links to the left or run your own search! One of our 600+ articles is posted below.

DEALING WITH AN UNDISCLOSED SEPTIC SYSTEM
Inspector's in the House by Barry Stone, Certified Building Inspector

Dear Barry,
We recently purchased our home and assumed that it was connected to city sewer. But now we've learned that there is a septic system that needs replacement, at a cost of $7000. We hired a home inspector and feel that he should have found this problem. We are also wondering whether the city should have inspected the sewage system when we were in escrow. Now that we're stuck, what recourse do we have?
Dee, Ohio

Dear Dee,
It is highly unlikely that the municipal authorities were required to inspect your sewage system prior to closing escrow. But the seller should definitely have disclosed that the house is connected to septic, rather than sewer. Had that information been revealed, a septic contractor could have been hired to evaluate the system. This is standard procedure with home sales involving septic systems.

As to your home inspector, his liability does not include septic systems or other aspects of a property that are concealed from view. A home inspection is a visual inspection only. Because septic systems are buried, their presence cannot always be determine by visual inspection. Even if the home inspector had discovered that there is a septic, the condition of the system could not have been determined without excavating and pumping the tank. This can only be done by a septic contractor, because special equipment and expertise are needed.

Once again, it was the seller's responsibility to disclose the septic system. Failure to divulge this information is a liability issue for the seller. If the system needs replacement, the seller may have been aware that there were problems, and failure to disclose such conditions is illegal in most states. Proving that this was known could be difficult, unless a local septic contractor has records of having serviced the system in recent times. For further advice on seller liability, you'll need to consult a real estate attorney.

You should also check to see if a city sewage hookup is available on your street. If so, the cost of connecting to that system may be more affordable than a new septic.

Distributed by Access Media Group. To write to Barry Stone, please visit him on the web at www.housedetective.com.