House Update: Inspection

Yesterday was our inspection day!

I was so anxious all day waiting to hear how it went, since we are still in Arizona right now. I really wish we could have been there for it in person, but it just wasn't gonna happen.

After trying to wait patiently all day long, I finally broke down and called the inspector in the afternoon to see what he had to say. Apparently he had finished the inspection hours ago but didn't think to call me. Really?! I was waiting around all day and little did I know he had finished a long time ago!

His response was that the house was "in great shape" and that it's the kind of house he loves to inspect because it's so well-maintained. Sweet! He did mention a few minor items but said it wasn't anything major. I was really worried about the maintenance of the home since it was built in 1999 (which is older for the area), but it looks like all my worries were for naught.

Later that night he sent us the full inspection report, which was very thorough and complete. It included photos of any "problem areas" with arrows pointing to the objects in question. That was very helpful considering how we were on the other side of the country!

The only items of concern were:
1. Some fungi spores in the crawl space. He recommended having them checked out and treated.

2. Weather stripping was worn on two of the exterior doors. Super easy to fix!

3. Fireplace needed cleaning because it had a lot of "creosote" in it.

4. Some sort of missing clamp on the garbage disposal. We had no idea what this really meant, but it seems like an easy fix.

5. One of the kitchen windows had a broken sash so it wouldn't stay up.

We have asked the sellers to fix all of these items before closing, which hopefully won't be a huge deal since they're all easy fixes.

Yesterday we also found out that the sellers had their termite inspection, which they were required to do as part of our VA loan contract. Apparently the inspector found evidence of termites in the crawl space, but the sellers are going to treat the house before closing. I've heard that Tennessee is a thriving area for termites so I'm not too concerned since it seems pretty normal to have some evidence of them. We plan on treating for them every year so hopefully we can keep them at bay.

It was a huge relief to put all the inspection stuff behind us! It looks like this house is really as great as we thought it was and all signs are pointing to closing in about a month. Woohoo!

The only major step left before closing is the VA appraisal. If the house appraises for less than what we agreed to pay, the sellers will either have to lower the purchase price to that amount or we will have to walk away. This is a contingency of a VA loan, since they won't approve a loan for a house that appraises for less than the purchase price. In contrast, if the house appraises for more than what we agreed to pay, we still get it for the lower agreed upon purchase price. It's actually really nice for us (the buyers) because it puts my mind at ease about whether or not we overpaid for the house.

I still can't believe we're actually going to be homeowners! This is such an exciting time!

Have you ever dealt with a home inspection? How did it go? Please share your stories...I'm a total newb at all this so I love hearing other people's experiences!