4 Above-and-Beyond Home Inspections That Could Save You Money

Even a great home inspector has their limits. There are several different types of inspections you may decide to have done on the property using licensed professional or even yourself with a DIY home inspection checklist. Although these are fairly uncommon, they may end up saving you a lot of money in the long run. (Your home inspector may also suggest these separate inspections after he completes his walk-through of the property.)

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4 Above-and-Beyond Home Inspections That Could Save You Money

1. Plumbing

A home inspector can look for leaks and can test to make sure the water is running and draining well, but he can’t see inside the drain pipes to confirm that there are no major problems. For this reason, you may decide to hire a plumber or plumbing inspector to stick a camera down the sewer lines and check for problems. After all, a cracked drain line can cost thousands of dollars to repair, especially if it’s broken under a driveway or parking lot.

2. Asbestos

Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous material used during the 20th century in a lot of building materials, but it was later discovered to be dangerous, even deadly, to humans who might breathe in fibers that become airborne. Asbestos can be found in hundreds of different products but is most common in popcorn ceilings, exterior siding, and pipe insulation. If you or your inspector have concerns about asbestos being used on your property, get the house tested by a local environmental testing agency. Although asbestos can be removed, this must be done by a licensed professional trained to remove the lethal product.

Related: Skipping That Home Inspection? These Horror Stories Will Make You Think Again.

3. Lead-Based Paint

Before 1978, lead was often used in both interior and exterior paint. It was added to paint to speed the drying time, increase the longevity of the paint, and resist moisture, which can cause corrosion on the painted surface. It was later discovered that lead can cause damage to the human nervous system, especially in young children. In 1978, lead-based paint was outlawed in the United States for residential use. Therefore, anything built before 1978 may contain lead (the older the home, the greater the chance).

Because of the danger this poses, there are some fairly strict laws in place concerning the disturbance or removal of lead-based paint from a property; this, of course, means that the issue can be very expensive to remediate. If you are buying a property that was built before 1978—and especially if you plan to do major work on it—you may want to test the surface of several painted areas of the property to determine whether lead exists. You can either hire a professional to do this, or you pick up a lead-test kit from any home improvement store and do it yourself.

4. Pests/Wood Destroying Organisms

Termites, flying beetles, carpenter ants, and other wood-eating bugs can cause tens of thousands of dollars in structural damage to a house, years before a homeowner or tenant even knows they are there! If your home inspector finds evidence of pests in the home, or if you simply live in an area of the country where this is common, hiring a professional pest inspector to perform a pest inspection would be wise.

This is also known as an “inspection for wood destroying organisms.” These inspections are generally done by local pest control companies whose workers are specifically trained to spot signs of these “silent killers.”

Any other inspections you get on your properties?

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Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.