Some buyers question the necessity or importance of a home inspection. When signing a promise to purchase, you have the opportunity to add different clauses that allow you to carry out various inspections depending on the property’s location, water or septic system, condition of the home, soil type, and much more. To know which inspections are necessary or recommended, it is essential to consult your realtor. He or she will be able to guide you through this process which, let’s be honest, is very important and can have a major impact on negotiations.

Here are the main inspections, or at least the most well-known ones!

Building Inspection

This is the most common inspection and is an integral part of a standard promise to purchase for a property, whether it is a plex, a single-family home or even a condo. This inspection will allow you to understand the current condition of your home, but also identify problems that may arise over the years. It is important to understand that an inspection is largely made up of recommendations for the future maintenance of the building. Every inspector works differently and may provide a point of view that differs from another inspector, but in the end all will offer suggestions for maintaining and caring for the property.

This inspection usually does not include additional buildings such as garages or sheds unless you pay extra fees. It also does not include fireplaces or wood stoves, pools or even spas. You will need a specialized expert for those items.

Today, in the Outaouais region, you can expect to pay around $500 for this type of inspection. Many people think this expense is money thrown out the window and unnecessary. But when you discover insulation such as vermiculite in the attic, settlement in part of the foundation or significant water infiltration, you will be glad to have paid this “small” amount, whether it allows you to withdraw your offer or renegotiate the purchase price based on issues uncovered during the inspection.

Water Quality Test

This test applies when the water supply comes from an artesian well, surface water source, sand point well, lake water and/or any system that is not a standard municipal supply. It is crucial to perform this test to ensure you have safe drinking water, especially if the property will be your primary residence. The test only takes about ten minutes to complete and laboratory results usually come back within 2–3 days after submitting the sample.

You will need to purchase the sample bottle and follow the handling instructions carefully to make sure the test is done properly. It is a test that costs about $40, which is certainly not excessive when it comes to knowing what we are consuming!

Septic System Inspection

This inspection applies, once again, when the sewage system is not municipal.

Whether the property has a septic tank and leaching field or a sealed septic tank, you may wonder whether an inspection of this system is necessary. The lifespan of such a system varies according to several factors, starting with how it has been used. Certain household products can deteriorate the inside of the tank. In addition, septic systems are designed and adapted specifically for the home they serve.

For example, if the installed septic system was designed for a 3-bedroom property, but the current owners have added two more bedrooms in the basement that are occupied full time by additional residents, the wear on the septic system will be much greater and the lifespan of that system much shorter.

There is also the soil type or the position of the leaching field, which can cause problems. For example, if the field is located in a low spot on the lot, at the base of a mountain or if trees have grown too close to the field, these situations could cause issues and potentially become very costly.

Experts are able to detect these kinds of problems. By running a camera through the septic tank and leaching field, they can give you a very good idea of the field’s remaining lifespan, the maintenance it has received, and whether the septic system is designed for your 5-bedroom home.

The lifespan of a leaching field is approximately 20–25 years, but this can vary depending on the factors mentioned above. There are also other types of septic systems that should be inspected by a professional as well.

This inspection costs approximately $500–$600, but it allows you to assess the condition of a system that can cost up to $25,000 to replace — and sometimes even more.

Many other inspections, tests or expert evaluations can be included in a promise to purchase. Here are a few examples: radon testing, air quality testing, iron ochre testing in soil, chimney inspections, drain camera inspections of the French drain and asbestos testing. Do not hesitate to ask your realtor for advice on which inspections you should consider.

You should also understand that an inspection provides peace of mind when buying a home. There is already so much to think about during such a purchase — is it necessary to impose this additional stress on yourself?

In addition, in the event hidden defects are discovered after purchasing the property, having completed an inspection and having an inspection report in hand can (and I stress can) facilitate a potential legal claim.

As for choosing inspectors:

Choosing the cheapest inspector you found on Google may not be the best way to save money in the long run. Once again, you can rely on the realtor you trust, and he or she will be able to provide you with a few solid references.