Home Inspections on Waterfront Homes: What Is Important! PART 1
Most people coming to southwest Florida to live the waterfront dream know that when they find the right home they will be doing a home inspection. More than likely they have been through the drill on northern home purchases and may/may not had good experiences in the past. Most come with many concerns and get information on the internet regarding things to worry about on a waterfront home purchase.
Many of the things they have learned through the internet and television up north are hyped up and often there is no need for concern. Some of the things they should worry about won’t even appear on the radar screen. I take the home inspection seriously and advise my customers on all aspects of homes on the water and what to watch for.
A sailboat access waterfront home and a “power boat” waterfront home have distinctions worth pointing out regarding docking, waterways, depths, etc. but for now the focus will be on the house home inspection.
First, with over 16 years of nearly 100% waterfront sales, I have never found it to be an advantage to my customer for them to find a home inspector on their own. Some folks coming from bigger city areas simply don’t trust as much and worry about the home inspector not being neutral and as a result pick their home inspector (ignoring my recommendations) based on home inspector blogs, websites, etc. Not once has this worked in their favor. Typically, they end up not feeling the inspector was very thorough and often the cost is higher than truly competent inspectors. I have only a few out of perhaps a hundred inspectors serving the area that I feel are good at their job and fairly priced.
In addition to the home inspection, the inspector can do a Wind Mitigation Survey and 4-Point Inspection at an additional charge each. These 2 items are often needed for insurance purposes.
My next blog will cover the most important aspects for consideration in a home inspection. I will also cover defects or issues that are quite likely to be discovered in nearly every home inspection and which are to worry about and which issues are not a worry.
