Reasons For An Electrical Inspection Before Buying A Home: Advice From Your Trusted Electrician | Irving, TX
Buying a new home can be overwhelming and exciting at the time. Most homeowners start thinking about new furniture, front garden, or paint colors, forgetting to get an inspection. A home inspection ensures all systems are efficiently working and discovers some underlying issues that can be costly after purchasing the house if not addressed. It should include an electrical assessment to ensure that the potential property meets current electrical safety guidelines and complies with NEC safety standards.
Even if it’s a new house, do not assume the electrical system is safe or the seller has already conducted an assessment. You should contact a certified electrician in Irving, TX, to check for various issues, including faulty or outdated wiring, connections with devices, or any electrical problems that could cause countless problems. You risk high power bills, electrical surges, power sags, and tripping circuit breakers without a professional electrical assessment.
Therefore, if you are an aspiring property owner it’s vital to hire an experienced electrician to inspect your dream house before depositing the check. Continue reading to know why you need to get an electrical inspection.
Safety Purposes
Whether purchasing a new or old home, you should ensure its electrical system is safe and functioning efficiently. The house you are purchasing could have electrical wiring that’s not up to the latest standard. Buying such a house without a correctly done electrical inspection puts you and your family at risk of electrical fire when the electrical system fails or malfunctions. In fact, between 2015 to 2019, over 46,700 home fires in the United States resulted from electrical malfunction or failure.
An inspection conducted by a licensed electrician will reveal safety issues such as improperly installed wires or cables. If the electrical inspection reveals wall sockets that are not firm against the wall, poorly grounded wires, or malfunctioning fuse boxes, you can request the seller to have those parts fixed or negotiate down the buying price.
Save Money On the Property
During an electrical inspection, an electrician might discover some defects with the electrical system. If that’s the case, you can negotiate a better price as a buyer. If the electrical assessment reveals extensive electrical system damage, it would be wise to avoid purchasing the property altogether.
The home inspection report will also give you peace of mind when it comes back clean, knowing that the property you are about to buy won’t have any electrical safety issues in the near future.
Prevents Future Problems
Some buyers forget to request an electrical inspection, and after purchasing the house, they notice some electrical issues. Hiring an electrician to check the electrical system will mean that you can catch the more minor problems down the line. Also, after purchasing the property, you should ensure that you have electrical inspections to keep your system in top-notch condition.
To Identify Overloaded Circuits
Electrical circuits can only handle a limited amount of electricity. With many modern devices, you may find yourself purchasing a house with few outlets; hence, ending up with electrical problems due to an overloaded circuit. Some people try to resolve this issue by using numerous powerboards. Still, the circuit breakers may trip when you exceed the limit causing a temporary outage.
Overloading circuits is dangerous as it causes the wire to overheat and insulation to melt, which could cause a fire. If you are purchasing an old home, you should consider the age of the electrical system because when it is old, it becomes overloaded quickly. A house with an overloaded circuit will have temporary outages as the circuit breaker keeps tripping. Other signs to watch out for include burning smells, buzzing switches, warm outlets, and appliances that seem to lack power.
During an electrical inspection, an electrician will determine how old the electrical system is and if it can handle modern electrical appliances. The report will also reveal any corrections that need to be done to meet your electrical demands and prevent any threats to your and your family’s safety. If the new home has limited outlets, you could request the buyer make corrections, including installing new and additional circuits.
To Check Any Issues with the Smoke Detectors
During the hassle of purchasing a house in Irving, TX, you may forget to check if the smoke alarm of the property you are purchasing is in good condition. Some buyers may not even notice the smoke detectors.
But these devices play a critical role by detecting fire, heat, or smoke and alerting homeowners before the start of a deadly fire. In fact, the number of fatalities in homes with a properly functioning smoke alarm is lower than in homes without alarms or malfunctioning alarms.
It’s required that all residential properties have a working smoke alarm. Therefore, when purchasing a property, you should ensure it is fitted with a smoke detector. But knowing that the house has a smoke detector is not enough. That’s why you need a detailed electrical inspection from a certified technician to ensure that the smoke alarm installed in the house complies with the Irving Fire Prevention Code.
The electrician will know if the smoke alarms are enough, functioning, and located in the appropriate location. If you are purchasing a rental property in Texas, the smoke alarms should be fitted in corridors serving many rooms, every sleeping room, and each level of the rental unit.
Find a Trusted Electrician in Irving, TX
There are many things to consider when purchasing a house. The most important is an electrical inspection that helps identify issues before moving into a new house. If you have found your dream home, and don’t want any nightmares, consider calling Tioga Plumbing & Electric for an electrical inspection.
Our licensed electricians will conduct a detailed inspection and give you the peace of mind that you made the right decision. We can also help you with any electrical needs, including lighting and ceiling fans installation, appliance hookup, fuse replacement, electrical remodeling, additions, or outdoor lighting. Give us a buzz today!
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