Recently, a customer called with some great questions regarding what to do following his Kansas City home inspection. As often is the case with homes built before the 1960, the electrical outlets in the home he was looking to buy were two-wire outlets. Some of the original outlets had been replaced with today's three-prong receptacles, but they were still two-wire outlets. He had asked the seller, as part of their negotiations following his Complete Home Inspection, to have the outlets rewired to meet today's standards. The seller refused. So our customer called for more information on how serious a "problem" this represented.
He asked a lot of intelligent questions about whether he should walk away from the deal, about safety issues, about electrical surges, and more. Now, he understands his options and can better decide what he wants to do going forward. In this particular case, contacting an electrician to get an estimate of the cost to ground the outlets sounded good to him. it was great to spend the time further explaining things to him and easing his mind. It's part of our Customer Service that we value so highly.
But overall, this is a shining example of the home inspection process. I've been doing Kansas City home inspections for more than twenty years now. But, I'm not the "house police". Because something is uncovered during your inspection does not mean that the seller is required to "fix" it, or that you're required to do anything about it after you move in. That is entirely up to you, your situation, and your negotiations with the seller. But, since it was uncovered during your inspection, it must be documented so that you know the condition of the property at the time of the inspection. What happens next depends on what you want to do about it.
Back to the electrical outlets in our customer's house, the house doesn't need to be rewired. Outlets can be grounded. GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) outlets can be installed for safety. It is possible that new owner could live safely in the house without doing anything about the outlets, as the seller had been living there safely for years. So there are many possible courses of action now. Knowledge is the key in making the correct decision for you and your situation, the knowledge you get from your Complete Home Inspection.
Whole house inspections, condo inspections, radon testing, mold testing, and more, we do it all for you. And, we answer your questions. Call or E-mail today to schedule your Complete Home Inspection, 913-268-0222, www.completehomeinspectionkc.com.
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