Why Hire a Home Inspector?

Buying a home in a foreign country is harrowing. Sure, real estate costs less here than in the US and Canada, but it’s still expensive. Mexican construction, laws, and customs are so very different from Canada and the US, that the risk often feels magnified.

You can hire a lawyer to protect you legally, but until now, there were very few people in Mexico with the necessary experience to perform real home inspections.

Are you thinking about buying a home here? Maybe some income property? What kind of shape is the roof in? What do the cracks in the walls mean? The electrical system is different, but is it…safe? What about the air conditioning system? The windows? And why is the water heater outside?

A proper home inspection will teach you about the different components of your home; how they work, how they interact, and how to know when they’ve failed and need to be replaced. The report should clearly list the defects as well as the other things you’ll need to know about. Your inspector should also be available for follow-up consultation by email and telephone after you buy your home.

Any investment carries a certain amount of risk and worry, but a home inspection can reduce the associated anxiety by teaching you what you need to know about your new home, and what it means.

It wasn’t that long ago that it was difficult for foreigners to buy property here. A few years ago, mortgages were nearly unheard of. Ralph Nader once called home inspections the “single greatest consumer value in America, bar none”. Now those values are available south of the border as well.

What happens if you don’t hire an inspector? Well, maybe nothing. Sometimes, it’s a lot like a healthy person getting a physical. The thing is: the only way to be sure is to go to the doctor and get checked out. It’s no big deal and it makes good sense. Why not learn all you can about the house you’re going to buy?

Casas del Mar PV is your Vallarta real estate resource. They perform home inspections for people who are serious about their real estate investments. You can send your questions Here