What's Wrong With This House?
Finding a Good Home Inspector
By Suzanne Barlyn
From The Wall Street Journal Online

Buying a house means buying its problems. That's where home inspections come in.

Many states and real-estate companies require sellers to disclose what they know about a home's problems, such as mice in the attic. But inspections, which are the buyer's responsibility, can reveal what the seller either doesn't know or isn't telling you. Big-ticket flaws can run the gamut from foundation cracks to a faulty septic system. Before closing on a property, buyers can ask sellers to fix problems, negotiate a credit for repair costs or agree to buy the house "as is." Walking away from the deal entirely can be a final option.

However, locating a knowledgeable house inspector isn't easy. Real-estate agents offer referrals, but finding one yourself ensures an inspector's independence. The price of a general inspection varies depending on the home's age, size and location, but generally runs about $300 to $700. Added services, such as a septic inspection and well-water analysis, can push the cost into the thousands.

For our test, we followed the buyer of a 29-year-old, four-bedroom house in Bucks County, Pa. The contract spelled out possible inspections. We needed five: a general inspection (including an inspection for termites and other wood-boring insects for an extra fee); a radon test; a lab analysis of well water; a septic inspection; and testing for possible leaks in an underground heating-oil tank.

Web searches for several national organizations directed us to local inspection and testing professionals. Telling friends and acquaintances about the upcoming move also elicited referrals, including the name of an inspector we ultimately chose.

The inspections turned up minor things, including a broken dishwasher hose and some windows that needed replacing. The seller fixed them. But soil samples collected near an underground oil tank revealed a more-costly suspected leak. The sellers excavated the tank and installed a new one above ground. The septic system worked. In all, our tester spent $2,200 on inspections.

For the general inspection, a building consultant for U.S. Inspect, a national home-inspection company, flicked every switch and inched along the crawl space during a five-hour process. He educated us about infrastructure, such as a pump that made the basement toilet flush, and an attic wire that we'd never see. He also found carpenter ants, which can cause structural damage by destroying wood, such as windows and beams. We received his 36-page report that evening, along with photos that helped us show the problems to the owners. The report included maintenance tips and repair-cost projections.

The house already had a radon-mitigation system -- a fan that routes underground air outside -- but radon testing would determine if it worked properly. Radon, a natural, cancer-causing gas, can seep through a foundation. We asked our general inspector to conduct a continuous monitoring test, which found normal levels of radon.

Septic-system inspections often cause anxiety for both buyers and sellers (repairs can cost thousands, while replacing a system can top $25,000). We avoided inspectors who relied only upon basic dye tests, which reveal seepage if dye that's flushed down the toilet later appears on the lawn. The test wouldn't tell the whole story, we thought. Pumping and inspecting the tank is costlier, but the process is more revealing.

We retrieved names via an online directory of septic pros from the National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association, based in Edgewater, Md. (www.septiclocator.com) The Pennsylvania Septage Management Association in West Chester, Pa. (www.psma.net/service_provider.html), whose members work in seven states, was a source of even more contacts. We selected an inspector who seemed knowledgeable about other septic systems and the soil in our neighborhood. He concluded the system was fine.

The home's underground heating-oil tank was a remnant of another era, when home builders seemed unconcerned about rusting and leaking decades later. We obtained referrals for tank inspectors from local oil companies. But an Internet search led us to ATS Environmental Services Co. The inspector collected soil samples and conducted a vacuum test, which uses sonar to check for cracks and leaks through a digital probe. A sound usually emanates from leaky tanks, but ours was quiet. We paid extra for a soil analysis, which showed petroleum traces, a sign of possible leakage. The expense saved us thousands in tank-removal and potential soil clean-up costs, which were the seller's responsibility.

The house inspector collected water samples from the private well for basic potability testing -- a lab analysis for elevated nitrate and bacteria such as coliform and E. coli. But we worried about other contaminants, possibly from the leaking oil tank. A well-drilling company and the county health department suggested laboratories. We chose the one with the most knowledgeable phone representative and, at her suggestion, tested for volatile organic compounds -- harmful groundwater contaminants derived from substances such as fuels and paint thinners. It seems unlikely that the oil traveled across the yard to the well area. But test results will take about 10 days.

We were convinced we found all the possible money pits. The inspections reassured us that we were about to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in a home that seems in good condition. We'll do a walk-through inspection on our own, before closing, just to make sure we didn't miss anything.

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