Thursday 30 October 2008

The inspection


The inspection was really really interesting and we learned lots of different things. Normally an inspection is made to the house just to see what problems it has and the client (the buyer) has to decide if (s)he wants the house or negotiate repairs or a lower price.

The inspection includes looking for humidity, cracks on the walls, floor or ceiling, check if the furnace and air conditioning are working, check if all included electric ampliances are working (fridge, kitchen, dishwasher, etc).

They also check whatever they can access from the electric instalation and the plumming, the attic to check the ceiling of the house, water preassure, roofs and whatever they can see about the fundations of the house.

One of the important things to remember is that they can't break anything, so they wont break the walls to see if the plumming is ok (for example) and they can't never ever be 100% sure that everything is working perfectly, but they can always give you a better idea of what you are buying and if everything appears to be in working condition.

Our inspector is reaaaally good, since he is from Argentina the inspection was in spanish, and he explained EVERYTHING he did and how everything worked, like how to change the filter of the furnace, how to control the air conditioning, how to see if the roofs need repairs, and lots of other things :D

The cost? $320 payable with check, and besides the confort of knowing that our house is above average and the great class we got, he gave us that big folder where it explains in much more detail what we need to know about Canadian houses and the kind of things we need to do every month/year. :)

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm impressed with the progress you are making. So when to we get to see the house?

Aiglee said...

Thank you!! The house is a secret xD

hehe, no, it's just that I don't have pictures, so everyone (including my family!) has to wait until I get the keys. The closing date is November 28th, so hopefully the first week of december at the latest I will be posting pictures :D

Anonymous said...

Cool! Look forward to it. Take care.

Nelson said...

Aiglee, no es carpet (alfombra), es folder.

Aiglee said...

ooppps, thanks!!!! I already fixed it, I'm still having problems like that (carpeta -> carpet xD) and didn't read twice to make sure. Thanks again!

Thanks fran :)

Nelson said...

First thing you'll probably have to do is put up curtains.
That in itself is easy, but start thinking about it.
It can cost upwards $600 to treat all your windows.

If the furnace has not been serviced, call someone as soon as you move.
You don't want it dying in the middle of winter.

If the thermostat is not digital, also change it. It will help saving some money.

CFLs. Use them. Is good for the environment and for your pocket.

Alarms. This are optional.
Personally I think they do little.
Police officers take their time when attending these calls because statistics show that when they get there, the thieves have left.
You can put one up to ease your mind, but I doubt it will work.

Break-ins in Canada are not like the ones back home (when they take everything).
Here is mostly teenagers looking for easy things to sell.

What else? Don't try to fix or change everything at once (like the windows curtains).
Pick the most important things first and work you way down the list.

Lastly, buy a good set of Snow shovels...in February you are going to regret living in a house! ;-)

Aiglee said...

Thank you Nelson!! :D

Unknown said...

Aiglee. ¿como se llama la inspección que solicitaste para la casa? Suena como una buena oportunidad de trabajo.

Aiglee said...

Debe ser home inspection... Tienes que estar certificado, pero me imagino que con unos cursos se puede de verdad :)