Don't be bashful when doing a home inspection. Use your sense of smell, sight and hearing to uncover problems with a home' structural features and expensive systems. Ask questions and don't be intimidated by any Realtors.

Buying a home is a major investment for most people. A home inspection can help you make a better decision about whether or not to purchase a home, and how much to pay for it. You'll also avoid some costly repairs.

Many home buyers believe that a home inspection will uncover every single flaw in the house. That’s not the case as we explained in our article "Home Inspections are not an option today."

You goal is to find and highlight any major structural problems that are expensive to fix or replace.

Advice Before the Home Inspection
We’ve been involved in a number of home inspections on properties that we have bought and offer the following advice:

1. Ignore the recommendations of a Realtor who may offer you a list of Home Inspectors. Again in our opinion, we believe that there’s a bit of a conflict of interest here. For example, a home inspector that consistently has a reputation for “killing deals” is not likely to be recommended by Real Estate Professionals. Those that facilitate deals are favored,
2. Insist that you choose the inspector and pay for this yourself. You want that inspector to owe his allegiance to you and definitely not the seller or Realtors. We also tend to ignore home inspection reports provided by the seller. In our view they’re not totally objective,
3. Don’t arrange an inspection in the late afternoon. Mornings and early afternoons are best, and
4. Call friends, search the internet sites in our article How to get a Good Home Inspection and choose a home inspector from their ranks.

During the Home Inspection
During the inspection, wear some work clothes and bring some friends along. The more eyes, ears, noses, and sense of touch you have the better.

1. Use one friend to keep the Realtor busy. Don’t tolerate interference from the Realtor, when you are discussing matters with the home inspector. Don’t be bashful either; it’s your money! Ask questions and probe. If your inspector indicates that something can be repaired, ask how much it will cost,
2. Use all of your senses and those of your friends. If you see something or smell something foul in the basement, don’t let the home inspector, Realtor, or Seller talk you out of it. Open doors, sniff, look, listen, and run your hands across surfaces. Ask if there’s a crawl space and take a look into it. If you see signs of water, water stains or a strong odor insist on pulling up a small piece of the carpet. Don’t be rude, just persistent,
3. Take your time and insist that the Home Inspector use tools to check for water, moisture, leaks and bad electrical outlets. A decent inspection should take a couple of hours,
4. Make sure that your inspector gets on top of that roof and checks it and the gutters out thoroughly. Replacing a roof is a major expenses and in some cases lenders will insist on it, if an inspector says it's shot,
5. If the home was constructed prior to 1976, its likely that it has lead-based paint. If the paint is chipping and you have young children, this could cause a problem if the kids ingest the chips. If there is lead based paint but its been painted over, there is less risk. If you are a buyer, the seller has to provide you a copy of the EPA and HUD Disclosure Pamphlet on Lead. We suggest you read this and
6. Get a legible copy of the home inspection report and pay particular attention to high ticket items that inspector flags as needed repair. The question is how soon they need repair. This is a judgment call at best and a good discussion with the home inspector will give you good idea of when things should be replaced and whether you want to ask the seller to do the work, ask for a credit, or a reduction in price.

One final word. A home inspection is stressful for both you and the seller. Understand this and refrain from making any inconsiderate remarks which could cause offense. Be courteous, pleasant and you’ll find that you’ll be better off in the end. The seller may be more willing to do things for you too.