Welcome to Affordable Inspections, proudly providing home inspections as well as property and commercial building inspector services to Tampa Bay, Clearwater, St. Petersburg and all the surrounding Florida counties of Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Polk, Hernando, Manatee and other Florida counties for over 20 years. The residential home inspections or commercial building inspections process can be confusing and stressful. Not only do you need to consider things such as price and location, you may also be concerned that your new property may have hidden problems such as mold, radon or toxic Chinese drywall.

With over 20 years of building experience and home inspection in the Tampa, Clearwater and St. Petersburg, Florida areas, we take pride in our professionalism while we look for those problems during your inspection. Our home inspection process is an unbiased, professional assessment of the condition of the house or building at the time of the home inspection. Our detailed reports provide you with an expert inspector’s opinion and professional evaluation regarding the condition of the structure of the house along with the roof, electrical, heating and air conditioning (HVAC) and plumbing systems within the home. We also provide you with our detailed observations of other systems such as windows, doors, flooring, appliances, cabinets and many others.

The commercial building, home inspection or property inspection process typically takes about 2 to 3 hours and begins with a visual inspection of the overall condition of the property and then proceeds to detailed inspection of the individual systems. We strongly encourage you to accompany our inspector during the home inspection. This will give you a chance to ask the inspector any questions as they arise and become more familiar with the home or building through the inspection process.

When the home or building inspection is complete, our inspector will:

• immediately give you a brief verbal overview of our inspector's observations and any significant problems that were discovered and discuss them with you, 
• tell you whether these are major issues or minor concerns,
• point out any safety concerns our inspector noticed, 
• tell you the age of the primary systems such as air-conditioning components and water heater along with an anticipated statistical life expectancy, 
• tell you about any routine maintenance that should be performed, and 
• our inspector will take the time to answer any questions you may have. 

We will not leave the property until all your questions are answered to your satisfaction. And, within 48 hours, you will receive a highly personalized and detailed, full-color inspection report with relevant pictures taken during the home inspection or commercial property inspection.

So, whether you are using our inspectors for a prelisting inspection, construction inspection, insurance discount survey, mold inspection, commercial building inspection or home inspection for a new property purchase, Affordable Inspections is here to meet your needs throughout the Tampa, Clearwater and St. Petersburg areas.

Why leave what is potentially the largest investment you’ll ever make to chance? Make an informed decision with a professional, detailed, full-color report as provided by the Tampa, Clearwater and St. Petersburg inspectors at Affordable Inspections.
Call Affordable Inspections for details: 727-224-0837

Article of the Week (05/07/2012):

Use a Real Estate Agent or Buy a Home on our Own?

When buyers first begin looking for a home, many buyers ask "can't we do this on our own? Do we really need to use a Real Estate Agent?" The answer is yes, you can do it on your own. There is no law that prevents you, as an individual, from buying property without professional Real Estate assistance. You can search for homes, arrange showings, and even negotiate on your own (although, in some localities, the actual contract for purchase will need to be drawn up by an Attorney). The real question may be "do we want to do it on our own?"

Just like doing your own taxes versus hiring a CPA, there are many ways to about shopping for and buying a new home.

There is a misconception among many first time home buyers that by using a Real Estate Agent, they will be subject to paying a commission. In virtually all situations, this is not the case. The commission for the sale of a home is paid for by the seller, not the buyer. If you went to your local appliance store and bought a new refrigerator, you wouldn't expect to pay a commission to the salesperson. The same applies when you buy a house--it is the seller of the item (in this case a house) that is responsible for paying to have it sold.

If you do decide to "go it on your own," your choices will obviously be very limited. The only homes that you can buy without any Agent assistance are those that are "For Sale By Owner" (FSBO)--generally a small percentage of the market. These are home owners who, for whatever reason, have decided not to use an Agent in the sale of their house. It may be because they think they can get more return by not paying a commission, or it may be because there was no Agent who would take their house listing at the price they demanded.

However, many Real Estate analysts have found that the selling prices of FSBO homes are equal to--or higher--than those listed by Agents. A problem arises when, as a "do-it-yourself" house buyer and without the benefit of a Comparative Market Analysis, you need to make a determination whether or not the house is worth the asking price. The sellers usually do not see (or put value on) the shortcomings of their home or any repairs that may be required.  They typically do not know the market value either and are, therefore, more likely to price the home higher than would be recommended by a professional real estate agent who knows the market.

So how do you decide? There is too much money potentially involved to make a "seat of the pants" decision. In this case, you will need to either secure an independent appraisal to determine a realistic price range for the property or develop your own determination of value.  A scary and dangerous potentially prospect, to say the least.

The next mistake that many buyers make, when they find that their choices are so limited by only dealing with homes for sale by owners, is to jump into the "listed" market by checking advertisements and calling Listing Agents directly or visiting Open Houses. There is not a dime to be saved with this strategy (the seller is still going to pay a commission) and you run the risk of ending up with no professional representation, since the Listing Agent is duty bound to represent the seller and not to you. It is crucially important that you understand the ramifications of this arrangement and how it applies to you when you buy a home.

Recommendations?

We highly recommend hiring an agent for your home real estate transaction.  Any good real estate agent will also recommend you include a home inspection clause when you make an offer on a house. That usually means you'll be paying for the inspection, so you need to know what you're getting for your money.

A qualified home inspector will comb a property's visible and accessible areas to identify any health and safety problems, positive or negative conditions of the property and any conditions that need further specialized attention.  An inspection includes structural elements such as the roof, foundation, walls, windows, doors, insulation, basement or crawlspace and attic. Electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling systems are also part of a home inspection. It can even include examination of appliances and should also report any evidence of termites.  Once the inspection is complete, the home inspector should provide a customized and personalized  written, comprehensive report detailing any issues with your particular home.

“Your Inspection Today Is Your Peace of Mind Tomorrow”