Home inspectors work year round. Snow can pose huge problems for home inspectors who conduct winter home inspections. If a big snow occurs the night before your winter home inspection, the home inspector will be limited in what he or she can do. Home buyers living in the northern half of the country should be aware of the limitations of a winter home inspection.

However, having a home inspection in the middle of winter is not a complete waste of money. Every season teaches you something important about your house or the house you are going to buy, says home inspector Jamie Dunsing. Some home flaws will not be visible because of the snow, and yet winter also presents an opportunity to see other things that the snow can teach you about the house.

During the winter, a home inspector may be able to brush off snow from a roof to see a small piece of it, but he or she will not be able to make a thorough assessment. Another winter home inspection limitation: a home inspector won’t be able to ascertain the condition of the landscaping.

In addition, a home inspector can’t properly test out an air-conditioning system in winter, or a heating system in the summer. Other weather problems, not necessarily limited to winter, like a heavy rain, can also make a home inspection difficult.

While you can’t have an accurate air conditioning test in winter, you can account for it in your home purchase contract. As a buyer, you can ask an attorney to see if your contract can be revised so that the seller will cover any sort of problem with the air conditioning when the cooling season comes around.

With regards to winter weather conditions you can control, try not to have your home inspector come after dark because you want him or her to inspect the entire property’s exterior and interior spaces. Daylight makes the home inspection process much easier, especially in the winter.

For more stories on home improvement, home inspections, real estate and personal finance visit ThinkGlink.com. Also check out our stories on attic inspections and fireplace inspections. Check out these home inspection videos featuring Chicago home inspector Jamie Dunsing:

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