Meet Your Inspection Crew: The Pros Looking Out for Your First Lodi Home

On your first home in Lodi, I always recommend at least three inspections: a home inspection, a termite inspection and a roof inspection. If the home has a pool or a chimney, those are good to get too.

Audrey Schmierer is a REALTOR® with Keller Williams Central Valley in Lodi, CA, helping first-time buyers and downsizers buy and sell with confidence. I'm Audrey Schmierer, and I love helping first-time buyers get to know a home before it's officially theirs.

Picture a small team of pros, each one looking at your new home for you. As the buyer, you usually pay for your inspections. Here's who you're getting.

🏠 1. The home inspector is your all-around pro. The inspector goes through the whole house from the roof to the foundation, including the plumbing, the electrical and the heating and air. I'm right there with you for this one.

🐜 2. The termite inspector. A close look for termites and any damage they've left behind, so you know what's going on in the wood of the home.

🪜 3. The roof inspector. A specialist's view of one of the most expensive parts of a home to replace. It's a wonderful thing to know what's over your head.

🏊 4. The pool inspector, if there's a pool. Already picturing summer afternoons in the water? This is how the pool gets its own checkup.

🔥 5. The chimney inspector, if there's a chimney. Your first cozy night by the fire starts here.

Audrey Schmierer is a REALTOR® with Keller Williams Central Valley in Lodi, CA, helping first-time buyers and downsizers buy and sell with confidence. We'll look at each home together, and I'll give you my straight recommendation on who belongs on your crew. For how the day itself goes, read what happens at the home inspection.

🔍 Skipping the extras because you won't use them. Not much of a swimmer? Never lit a fire in your life? The pool and the chimney still come with the home, so it's smart to know how they're doing.

Here are two made-up examples.

Say you fall for an older home with a fireplace in Downtown Lodi. Your crew grows to four, and you get to keep all that charm knowing the chimney has had its own look.

Say the termite report comes back with something to fix. Depending on what's found, you can ask the seller for repairs, a credit or a lower price. It depends on the situation, and we'd work out your best move together.

Start with your big three, then let the home's extras tell you who else to call.

See where inspections fit in the offer and escrow step, read how I help first-time buyers, or call, text or email me to get started. Audrey Schmierer is a REALTOR® with Keller Williams Central Valley in Lodi, CA, helping first-time buyers and downsizers buy and sell with confidence.

This article describes how I generally help buyers. It isn't legal, tax or lending advice, and every purchase has its own details.