Get Plumbing and HVAC Inspections Before You Buy a Home

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Homeownership is expensive, to say the least. In fact, one of the most expensive times for homeowners is right at the beginning, when they’re buying their home. More than the down payment, expenses like home inspections, title costs, closing costs, necessary repairs and more all come out of your bank account.

The last thing you need after signing on the dotted line of your mortgage is another expense. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what many homeowners are met with. Their whole-home evaporative cooling unit fails on a hot, sunny day. Or, they find evidence of water damage and a major leak in their plumbing in Mesa, AZ. It’s another fee and another headache to resolve these issues.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. If you take the time and pay the cost to have plumbing and HVAC inspections before buying the home, you can avoid paying out the nose after the fact.

Above and beyond home inspection

Most home inspections will cover plumbing and HVAC, but only in a general sense. The home inspector isn’t a master plumber or a seasoned HVAC tech by any means. They’ll simply make sure things work and move on to the next checklist item. The problem is, just because your plumbing and HVAC systems work doesn’t mean there’s not a problem.

To really get the lay of the land, hire an expert for a thorough inspection. No one is going to get more in-depth with your plumbing or HVAC in Mesa, AZ than someone who handles it for a living. They’re the person who’s going to catch the failing blower in your furnace or faulty backflow valve in your toilet’s plumbing.

You’re going to pay a fee and have to go through another inspection, but the cost is worth it. Consider $250 and an hour of your time for a plumbing inspection, versus thousands in costs when a pipe fails and floods your basement. That $250 is the cost of peace of mind.

End-to-end inspections

What you get from a professional plumbing or HVAC inspection is end-to-end thoroughness. A regular home inspector isn’t equipped with a drain cam to examine your sewer line or the electrical equipment to measure your AC unit’s capacitor function. As a result, they’ll give everything a quick check, but miss things at the beginning of the system. The problem is, these are the things that cost you the most!

  • A damaged sewer line can range anywhere from $2,500 to $15,000 to fix, depending on the extent of the damage and any excavation work.
  • New AC units and furnaces typically start at $5,000 and go up from there. Damaged ductwork will tack on costs.
  • Water line repairs can lead into the untold thousands of dollars and beyond, especially if there’s any water damage to remediate.

A regular inspector may be able to clue you in on a non-functional forced air register or a leak under the sink, but that’s the extent of their insight. To avoid big costs and all the frustration that comes along with them, make the decision to call a professional to inspect your HVAC and plumbing in Mesa, AZ.