Looking to purchase a home in Atlanta, Georgia? Also, once you are under contract – you will need to hire a qualified home inspector to make you aware of any issues with the home that may require repair.

Home inspection: Before you close the deal on your home, you should have it inspected by a professional. This will protect you from buying a home with serious problems that require expensive repairs. If you don’t have a trusted inspector, we would love to connect you with our trusted inspection partner, Jason, with Residential Inspector of America. He is very thorough with the inspection and is also great at answering any questions you may have about the home you are purchasing.

Home inspections typically take place in the first 7 days after the purchase offer has been accepted. The contract usually includes a condition called a due diligence contingency period that means the contract will only move forward when the inspection is complete and both parties agree on necessary repairs. Inspections typically take one to three hours, depending on the size of the home. We will coordinate a time that works best for you to make sure that the sellers are aware. It’s important to get to know the home and to ask the inspector any questions you may have.

So, where does an inspector… inspect? First of all, he or she conducts a visual evaluation of the seller’s home, from the basement to the attic, on the inside and the outside. An inspection is non-invasive, meaning the inspector will not enter any walls or pull up flooring. The inspector looks for problems that need immediate repair (like poor electrical wiring) or things that may need repairs in the future, so it’s important that you be there to ask questions. The most common problems are found in the electrical work, plumbing, the foundation, the roof, flooring, windows, the structure, and heating and cooling systems. The inspector will not report cosmetic defects, so check for these yourself, like scuffed floors or hideous wallpaper.

Typical cost to hire inspector: $350-$500 (Cost does depend on the size of the home inspected and if it’s on a crawl space, basement or slab.)

Appraisal Fee: This covers the cost of an appraisal– an assessment of the home’s value that assures the lender that the home is worth as much as you’re borrowing and spending to purchase it. Keep in mind that the majority of lenders collect this appraisal fee from you upfront at the time you apply for your loan.

An appraisal, simply put, is a statement of a home’s market value. During the appraisal process, the home, also called the subject property, is given a value based on the recent sales history of similar homes in the area, which are called comparables or “comps” for short. Neither the mortgage lender, the real estate agent, the seller, nor the buyer have any influence over the outcome — instead, the lender selects a state-licensed appraiser to appraise the home, usually from a random queue.

Most appraisers will only factor in the last 180 days of sales activity in a reasonable radius around your home to give an honest assessment. Since the appraised value is reached by much more extensive research, this is typically the more accurate home value for the current market rather than a tax assessment. The lender heavily relies on the appraisal data and will not lend for any amount over the value of the appraisal.

Typical cost of an appraisal in Atlanta is about $500.

If you have any questions about the upfront costs of buying a home in Atlanta, Georgia, please let us know! We would love to guide you in the process and educate you on the details of the current market! Call us today: 678.671.0202