HyruleJedi t1_j5w0kbw wrote on January 25, 2023 at 11:15 PM

Reply to comment by thefrozendivide in For anyone looking to buy a house in West Philly... by kingintheyunk

What if your best friend is a civil engineer, land surveyor, and specifically inspects things for a living?

kilometr t1_j5wbb9y wrote on January 26, 2023 at 12:32 AM

I’m a civil engineer and unless your friend inspects houses for a living, which is rare for a civil engineer, I would still hire one.

Issues that a home inspector would catch don’t overlap much with what most civil engineers do. structural stuff maybe, but not smaller things involving utilities, etc.

JudgeDreddNaut t1_j5wq37y wrote on January 26, 2023 at 2:16 AM

Yeah I'm a civil and I still have hired an inspector for all the homes I've ever purchased. I know enough to know I don't know enough.

dannygunz t1_j5wt0hi wrote on January 26, 2023 at 2:36 AM

A lot of home inspectors just go through a checklist and aren't very thorough. I would recommend people not just feeling safe because they have an inspector. Do as much homework as possible before and scrutinize the hell out of the place with the inspector while walking through, or better yet bring your civil engineer/contractor/whatever friend or family to do it too.