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Home Buyer's Inspection - "If Home has Security System, Make Sure It is Tested"

Summary: if you are buying a home with an installed security system, make sure it is included in the purchase contract and tested at settlement walkthrough.

Background:

More and more homes have a security system but they are often overlooked by a homebuyer at home inspection time.

The assumption often made by a home buyer is that other than entering a code in a keypad to arm and disarm the system, there is not much else to know or care about a security system.

Homebuyers often do not specify that an installed security system be operational in a purchase contract and are often overlooked buy the person doing the home inspection for the buyer. The home inspector does not know how each and every home security system is supposed to work and thus ignores it.

Problems:

Ok, so you buy a home with an installed security system but it is not included in the purchase contract as a required functioning system.

You then discover your homeowner's insurance will give you a discount if a security system is installed and functional.

Or you decide it would provide some peace of mind if you could arm the system while you were away for extended periods of time.

Not a good time to discover the security system is unplugged from house power and a tangle of wires.

Not a good time to discover the access code the previous owner left you in a pile of papers on your new home,  does not work.

Not a good time to discover it is going to cost $75 - $150 for a security company to come and look at your installed system.

Not a good time to discover your local security company does not want to deal with your installed system and wants to install a whole new system with a required multiple year monitoring contract.

Oh, but you say, "I can fix it". Well, maybe you can and maybe you can't. Depending on who installed the security system originally, the system may be "locked" such that only the original installer can change any system programming.

If you are buying a home with a security system, make sure it is working and you know how to work it before you move in.