Protecting your equity in a booming real estate market
You are watching your home equity grow, likely by double digits percentages in the last few years. As you are dreaming about your newly found wealth, visions of vacations, kitchen renovations and shiny cars are dancing through your head. These may have even distracted you from noticing that crack in the brick, uneven floor, spot on the ceiling or that missing shingle. As you are planning how to spend that newly found wealth, the deferred maintenance may be secretly gobbling up your equity. Your home is likely the largest investment you will make in any one asset, so protect it, just like you would that shiny new car.
Unless you grew up in the construction business, you may have no idea how to maintain your home. You could call the HVAC contractor, a structural engineer, a roofing company, a foundation company and a host of other trade specialist to evaluate your home. In today’s market, that would likely take months and become expensive quickly. In a high demand market, those specialized tradesmen will likely be reluctant to prioritize a check-up over a larger job.
There is an efficient and economical way to give your home that checkup and preserve your equity. While you may have had a home inspection when you purchased your home, you may not have thought about having that inspection to protect your investment. A home inspection is a visual evaluation of the major components of your home, from the roof to the foundation. On average the home inspection takes about two hours. After the inspection is complete, you will receive a report covering the findings, including pictures and recommendations.