An independent home inspector (licensed and with credentials) should need about 2+ hours to properly inspect the house and charge appropriately. $300 to $500 is the usual range.

If I could have a contractor look it over that would be good. Some of it involves drainage and potentially reflashing a glass door so I might need more than a handyman. Unless I knew of a really good handyman that I trusted, which I dont :(

Look for a NextDoor forum in your area. Join it (protect your personal information and address from being available to everyone) and then ask for recommendations for a handyman or contractor. I like it so much more than Angie's list - it's free and it's neighbor helping neighbor. If you get several recommendations for the same person, you can be pretty sure it's a good one.

I saw a young man list on NextDoor for work wanted, like yard clean up, etc. I am very cautious of those kinds of listings, but he put his full name in the listing, so I checked him out on Facebook. Found that he was friends with several people I knew and didn't have any weird stuff posted. (not a guarantee, of course). But I met him and liked him immediately and he did a great job of helping me get some things done. It wasn't handyman stuff requiring much skill and I wouldn't likely hire someone just on their ad (usually good handymen don't need to advertise - they have more work than they can handle). I'm just using my guy as an example of how nicely some things work out. Good luck!

" I might need more than a handyman. Unless I knew of a really good handyman that I trusted, which I don't"

Well you evidently don't know any really good inspectors you can trust either so what kind of silver bullet suggestions are you looking for anyhow? You are saddled with the place,get real and start fixing everything your inspector didn't tell you about.

Well that was rude. I'm trying to figure out what needs to be fixed as I don't have the expertise. I would rather prevent problems and address them proactively. I will be much more selective as to who i hire in the future. I appreciate the constructive suggestions above.

One way to find a professional is by word of mouth. When I did remodeling/handy work, I did not advertise. All my jobs were from satisfied referrals. I got some from neighbors watching me work.

Home inspectors seldom get repeat business since most folks keep a home several years or decades or move out of an area. But, recently sold homes have new owners who might have information.

Another way is to ask banks/mortgage lenders who they use for inspections for mortgages. Those people have a lot of knowledge.

And, finally, you are in the same situation as millions of other home owners have found themselves. What you have as an asset is the Internet. There are thousands of places to go to educate yourself on all kinds of areas in home repair. When you have an idea what is wrong, you can better interview and pick people to do the work.

Banks don't use inspectors. Banks sell their REO properties AS IS and don't even have a clue what it looks like except for photos. They don't send out inspectors - ever. Realtors use inspectors extensively. I agree with using someone that is referred to you by others in your neighborhood or circle of friends. Contact your Realtor and s/he is likely to have trusted handymen or even contractors that will do small maintenance type work.

Gee, the fellow who spent over an hour and turned in a 16 page report that the bank required to redo our mortgage said he was an inspector---and I did not pay him as the bank hired him.

Thank you for all your comments. I have subscribed to next door and am also asking neighbors.

Denita/HandyMac: My experience has been kind of a mix as when I bought my house the bank required a home inspection for the mortgage but as the buyer I had to pay for it. I do not recall having an inspection when we refinanced our mortgage.

Different lenders have different policies. Our bank(from whom we got our mortgage and also refinanced it) required an inspection both times. They hired the inspectors. We may have been charged for the first inspection, but we were certainly not charged for the second.

Call at least several people and ask them to come out and offer suggestions. Ask lots of questions and get written quotes for recommended repairs/improvements. Then do some research. If you do decide to hire another inspector, don't expect to get recommendations for workers to complete the repairs/improvements as that might give the appearance of a conflict of interest. For what it's worth, I actually had a similar experience where the house checked out with a reputable inspector, and then torrential rains rolled through a couple months after the closing... My best advice is to stop beating yourself and just deal with the situation.

HandyMac, that may be a geographical thing or a bank overlay. I have never seen it in nearly 40 years of my real estate career. But there are differences across the country when it comes to buying and selling real estate. I have sold over 1000 homes (17+ were mine) and worked with many different lenders in different parts of the country and the bank never required an inspection report. Your area has to be completely different if the bank orders and pays for the inspection. I can see where that would be good and bad from the buyer's point of view.

Are some confusing a Bank Appraisal with a Bank Inspection?

Appraisal serve to satisfy the Bank that its interest in the property will be covered in event of a default.

Inspection is a buyer option.

" I have never seen it in nearly 40 years of my real estate career."

Now I have a question. Over those 40 years,how did lenders assure themselves pre-owned homes they were lending on wasn't near falling in from termites,wasn't half burned down,didn't have irreparable foundation damage or other issues that dramatically effect's value.

Bank appraisal.

As a retired US Navy SubmarinerI moved all over the country. I have owned a home for just shy of 50 years in CT, WA, VA, SC, CA, MA, and now MD. Not one of those homes had a bank INSPECTION. They all had a bank APPRAISAL. (As a mortgage was involved.)

In no case was I ever shown the results of the APPRAISAL - other than the value. In all cases a Termite Inspection was conducted by a qualified inspector - not a bank appraiser.

For you SaltyDawg,I will accept that all your appraisals were done without inspecting the home. I'll also take your word that condition of roof,hvac,plumbing,paint and other things had no bearing on the appraisal. For most people,banks have people inspect homes, take condition of home into consideration then render an appraisal. Just for the record,I realize there's also a select few others that get similar treatment.

" I have never seen it in nearly 40 years of my real estate career."

Now I have a question. Over those 40 years,how did lenders assure themselves pre-owned homes they were lending on wasn't near falling in from termites,wasn't half burned down,didn't have irreparable foundation damage or other issues that dramatically effect's value.

__________________________________________

To respond to this question by klem1 ^^^

The appraiser is the one that notes any deficiency in the collateral. This is true for conventional loans and government insured type loans (FHA/VA, USDA). The appraiser isn't quite a thorough as an inspector, but they do check the foundations, the roof, HVAC, and electrical systems and other items and put those items in the appraisal. They will even make the value subject to repair of those items prior to closing in some cases.

An appraiser can explain it in more detail. The appraisal is ordered by the bank and paid for by the buyer to protect the bank from loaning against inferior collateral.

The inspection is ordered and paid for by the buyer for the buyers use. If there are surprises in the inspection, we go back in and renegotiate the price and/or the repair or cancel the purchase depending on the severity of the condition discovered in the inspection. We have the inspections done long before the appraisal is completed so if there is a price or other adjustment it can be negotiated prior to the appraiser getting to the property.

One more thing: if the appraiser makes the condition a repair item, then the appraiser has to come out to re-inspect that item after the repair and prior to closing and submit photos of the repair (where possible) and paperwork to the bank that s/he has inspected the item.

Inspections and appraisals are two totally different things - but they do overlap in some respects because the condition of the collateral does affect value.

PS: Appraisers refer to their visit as an "appraisal inspection". This could be where the confusion comes from in the post by klem1. The "appraisal inspection" is nowhere near as detailed as an inspection done by a qualified inspector. HTH.

",I will accept that all your appraisals were done without inspecting the home."

I never said that. I said the bank had an appraisal done - that involved a person coming to the home and inspecting/examining the home and comparing to comps, etc. No identification of "defects" was made to me as either the buyer or seller.

" I'll also take your word that condition of roof,hvac,plumbing,paint and other things had no bearing on the appraisal."

And I did not say that, either. Those things would all reflect on the value of the home - however, these items would affect the appraisal that is presented to the bank - not identified to me.

You need to learn the difference between a bank appraisal and a home (buyer's) inspection.

Denita laid it out quite well just above.

Say the bank appraiser saw the kitchen sink faucet dripping. He'd not even very nice make note of it and nobody would be the wiser. However, the buyer's inspector would certainly make note of it, and the buyer would be informed.

jmhunter64:

Every time I've been called to fix a leaky slider, I've had to reinstall the door with proper flashing. The low bidder with a caulk gun is not your friend. You need to shop reputation, not price.