How Home Inspections Have a Huge Impact on Insurance Rates

Leugers Group, Southwest Florida Real Estate Blog

Expert home inspector Bob Cantu joins us once again today to discuss a few more points regarding the home inspection process.

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If you’ve ever had any questions about the home inspection process, today is your lucky day.
Because so many viewers ask us to explain how home inspections work here in sunny Southwest Florida, we decided it was time to address the subject with the help of expert inspector Bob Cantu.
In Bob’s words, a home inspection is a “general overview of the home’s condition.” Inspectors will examine a property’s roof, plumbing, electrical systems, air conditioning, and more. Home inspections are meant to uncover any structural, mechanical, or safety issues a property may have.
In our area, insurance inspections, like wind mitigation inspections, are also a major part of this process. If a home passes a wind mitigation inspection, it’s owner can be credited for a discounted insurance rate. Homes with features designed to help them withstand high winds are far more likely to do well in such an inspection. For instance, insurance companies will only offer credits on properties with three nails in their hurricane strap. Updating a home’s roof or adding hurricane shutters to doors and windows can also help.

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The work of inspectors like Bob is so critical to the real estate process.

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Moving on, we also wanted to ask Bob about some of the deal breakers that tend to be uncovered in an inspection. According to him, bad roofs, faulty electrical panels, and poor plumbing are three of the most common issues that cause buyers to back away from a deal after the inspection.
That isn’t to say that these issues will always lead to the collapse of a sale, though. Buyers and sellers may certainly negotiate repairs based on the findings within the inspection report. Home inspections exist to make sure that a property’s issues, especially ones not immediately visible to the naked eye, do not remain undetected and unresolved. Sometimes, identifying these issues requires inspectors to use specialized tools like an infrared camera—which can be used to find leaks.
And when issues like leaks go unnoticed, they can evolve into an even worse, even costlier problem down the line. This is why the work of inspectors like Bob is so critical to the real estate process.
If you’d like to reach Bob, you can give him a call at [phone] or email him at [e-mail].
And, as always, if you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to reach out to our team. We look forward to hearing from you soon.