I'm always amazed how cheap some people can be. Seriously. Say you're thinking about buying a car. You head on down to the local dealership, wander the lot until you see something that piques your interest. So what do you do? Climb behind the wheel to see how it feels. It's easy to imagine yourself zipping down the freeway in your "new wheels". Next, you get out and walk around it, maybe kick the tires, lift the hood to see just how squeaky clean the engine is. You check out the trunk, check to see if it has a spare tire and jack, and then back behind the wheel one more time before heading in to sign the paperwork. Some of you will even take the car to your own mechanic for a once over just to see what is really wrong with it. If you're really luck, you'll get a clean bill of health. More than likely though, you'll get a report back that reflects some things that need to be done. Mostly minor stuff though, but isn't it a good feeling to know exactly what is right and what is wrong? BEFORE you sign the paperwork and make it the problems yours.

Well this is exactly the step that many home buyers "Cheap out" on. Your spending $100,000 or more to buy a home and yet you aren't willing to spend $500 or less to have a professional home inspector review the home before you plunk down your hard earned cash and make it yours... problems and all.

I bring this up, because it is important for you to understand exactly what you are buying. Every house is going to have problems. These problems, more than likely, are going to cost you money. Wouldn't it be nice to know just how few (or many) problems exist, and if they are minor problems, they probably won't, and likely shouldn't stop you from making it your own.

Too many times I see people buy a home, not have it inspected and then not very far down the road have a major and expensive repair. Had you known before you signed the paperwork, you could have done a few things to mitigate your costs. You could have negotiated for the seller to pay for some or all of the repairs. You could have negotiated a reduction in the price to compensate for the fact that the problem exists, or at the least, you could have prepared yourself for the likely inevitable of having to make the repairs when it finally fails.

Now I happen to be one of those that believe in a home warranty. Many times, your Real Estate Agent will encourage you to get one and even negotiate for the seller to purchase it for you. Smart thinking... If the dishwasher or water heater goes out, it is likely that it could be covered by the home warranty. For a modest service fee, repairs are made to get it working again, or if necessary, replaced.

HOWEVER, we are beginning to see a trend where some warranty firms are now taking into consideration the timing of the repair order. Shortly after you move in, the water heater goes out. The warranty company sends out a repairman who looks at the unit and determines that the reason it won't heat water is the tank is rusted through and a small drip keeps drowning out the pilot light. The rusting problem originated before the warranty policy went into effect and the company denies your claim. Now you are stuck not only with a bad water heater, but the cost to replace it as well.

Imagine the aggravation of finding out two weeks into the home that the Air conditioning unit blows air, but not cold air. Imagine the shock of finding out that the Warranty Company is denying your claim because the breakdown is caused by a pre-existing condition. Suddenly you're out $8,000 or more to fix something you didn't know, but could have known was broken.

If a home inspection report indicates the air conditioner is functioning normally, and two weeks later it breaks, the Inspection report would likely be the only proof you need to have the warranty company honor your claim.

The advice I give every one of my customers is this... Get a home inspection and consider a Home warranty. They will prove to be worth their weight in gold. If the home inspects well and there are no issues, you can close escrow knowing that there are no big surprises around the corner.

~ Bert Carpenter, The LoansA2z team of NOVA Home Loans ~ NMLS 40586 ~ www.LoansA2z.com