Buying a home is the most expensive investment you are likely to make in your life. Starter homes in New Jersey can cost over half a million dollars or more. There are other pieces of due diligence outside of your home inspection that you can do as a buyer that will provide even more information to you so you can make even more informed decisions. The home inspection is the most integral part of the process, however there are other or ancillary inspections you can do to take that extra step to put you in the best position possible to understand the condition of the home that you are buying.
The first ancillary inspection or service is to have an oil tank sweep performed. Many homes in New Jersey are heated by fuel oil. Before 1980 many homes in the North part of the state had oil tanks that were buried below ground. Often these homes were converted to natural gas and the oil tanks were left in the ground. An oil tank abandoned in the ground will leak at some point and can cause significant environmental damage. If you purchase a home with an oil tank below ground, you are responsible for its environmental clean-up if there was a discharge of oil. Environmental remediation can be very expensive and onerous once the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of environmental Protection get involved. This is a problem you do not want to have as a homeowner. The answer to this open question is to have an oil tank location service performed on the property to determine if there are any oil tanks below ground that you, the buyer of the property, do not know about.
An oil tank location is performed by a company that has the proper insurance to cover you if they miss a tank on the property. You must make sure that the location company has the proper insurance to cover “environmental damage”. Some insurance companies will cover the tank only but will not cover environmental damage which is the thing that can cost big money. The location service will use a piece of equipment which is like a large metal detector to scan the property for any large metallic objects below ground. This equipment will sound an audible alert when a metallic below ground object is found. If the object is the size and shape of an oil tank, then further investigation would be necessary to determine if the object is an oil tank. Further investigation usually involves confirmation by GPR or Ground Penetrating Radar or doing an exploratory dig. GPR is a specialized radar that is used to confirm that an oil tank exists, and exploratory digs are old fashioned use of a shovel to remove dirt to determine if the object is a tank. If a tank is found, then you can negotiate its removal. You do not want to buy a home with an oil tank below ground. Having a tank sweep performed is important if there is no documentation that an oil tank has been removed from the property. Having a tank sweep is also important if you are buying a northeast property that is older. Even below ground tanks that have been filled with sand and gravel can be problematic. Any oil tank left in the ground should be removed. Having a tank location is an important piece of due diligence that you should do before you close on the home.
The next inspection not to ignore is the sewer line inspection. A sewer line is that main waste pipe that carries the home’s wastewater to the street connection or municipal tap. The New Jersey home inspector will not be able to view or inspect the condition of the main waste pipe because the line is located below ground. It is impossible to see and determine its condition on a visual home inspection. The only way to view its condition is to use a sewer line inspection camera to inspect the condition of the interior of the sewer line. The sewer line inspection technician will access the sewer line from the main sewer clean out which is usually located inside the basement or crawl space. On newer homes sometimes these access points are located on the exterior of the home. Some NJ home inspectors perform this type of inspection, however, most do not. You may have to hire a third-party company that specializes in this type of inspection. It’s crucial to know the condition of the sewer line in the home that you are purchasing because its expensive to repair or replace a sewer line. A sewer line inspection will be able to find tree root intrusion, displaced sewer line pipes, areas of water retention, obstructions, large pipe offsets, and grease built up in the line. It is far better to know about these problems before you close on the home, so you can negotiate or to have the seller make the necessary repairs. It is costly to repair or replace a sewer line and it is far better to know that a problem exists before you close on the home when the repair or replacement becomes your responsibility.
Along the same lines as a sewer line inspection is a septic inspection. A septic system is a private waste system for a home. Septic systems are typically found in more rural areas where connection to the city sewer is not practical. Septic systems can be upwards of forty thousand dollars to replace. If you are thinking about buying a home that has a septic, you must have it inspected. If the system is failing and you buy the home, you will be the one responsible for its replacement. Do not under any circumstances forgo the septic inspection.
The next piece of due diligence is a level II chimney inspection. Home inspectors can only view the visible components of the chimney. These components include the exterior components of the chimney, flashings, crown, and rain hat. The home inspector will also be able to view the fireplace interior, surround, hearth, and damper. What a home inspector will not be able to view is the interior of the chimney liners. The liner is the component inside the chimney that is responsible for directing the products of combustion out of the home. If the chimney has a damaged liner these products of combustion can end up migrating to the living space which is a hazardous condition. Even if the home does not have a fireplace, it can still have a chimney that vents the heating equipment. Chimney liners are expensive and if the liners are damaged, they will have to be replaced. A level II chimney inspection is a more comprehensive inspection that focuses on the chimney alone. The home inspector is inspecting the entire home, however a chimney inspector performing a level II inspection will be inspecting just the chimney. Chimney repairs can be very expensive. Having a level II inspection either after the home inspection or in conjunction with the home inspection will add an additional layer of due diligence and may save you thousands of dollars down the road if expensive chimney issues are found. If you a buying a home that has a chimney, either a fireplace chimney or heating flue or both, you should seriously consider having a level II chimney inspection performed.
Having the home inspected, performing a radon test and termite inspection is a solid foundation of due diligence. However, there are additional ancillary inspections that you as a home buyer can do that will provide even more information. Buying a home in New Jersey is very expensive. I understand that having additional optional inspections performed can add up in price but when you weigh the cost of the home versus the cost of the inspections there is no reason why you should not have them. Often these other inspections end up paying for themselves because problems are likely to be found that you as a buyer did not know about. Finding out there are large issues after you close on the home does little for your peace of mind and can destroy what is probably an already tight budget. When buying a home in NJ you should consider the other inspections that can add significantly to the information you are gathering about the home you are purchasing.