Within a week or so after being under contract, you should get a home inspection done.

 

This needs to be done by a licensed home inspector...not a buddy who happens to be handy or has bought a bunch of homes over the years.

 

If you know a licensed inspector, feel free to hire him or her. If not, here’s a list of ones we trust and recommend:

• Inspector Info Pending

 

Fair warning: Inspection reports often make a home sound like it should be bulldozed because it has so many problems. Things are rarely as bad as an inspection report makes it sound. So when you read through yours, don’t be alarmed.

 

We’ll give you some thoughts and guidance on what you should ask to be repaired—and what you might want to let slide—once we have the report back.

 

You should go after structural and operationally deficient items in most cases. (Of course, this depends on the deal we’ve negotiated, whether there were multiple offers, if there are backup offers, etc.)

 

But the home inspection is not meant to be used to ask for every little thing, like a minor drip on the kitchen faucet or a squeaky door, for instance.