Look closer

At this point, I've inspected over 2,000 homes in West Texas. Huge homes, tiny homes, old homes, and brand new construction homes. The one thing each and every one of these properties had in common were that each one had defects. I have yet to see a perfect home.

One thing that won't show up on a home inspection report are cosmetic defects. The reason cosmetic defects don't appear on most conscientious home inspectors inspection reports is because cosmetic problems are generally in the eye of the beholder.

However, as a home buyer, you should be in tune with whether or not your prospective home has cosmetic effects or not. The reason it should matter to you is simply due to the law of averages. If the person installing the baseboards installed them wrong, they also did other work in the home, & you can bet they did that wrong too. What about the areas you can't see? What about the areas you can see and don't know if it's right or wrong?

The moral of the story is this, when looking at a home, don't think about where your couch will go, or how your kids room will be set up as much as you think about whether this home will be safe, quality built, and stand the test of time. I know that's not easy! But its necessary.