Having your home inspected by a licensed professional is expensive. But Janis Emery of Clarksville, Tenn., says the several hundred dollars she and her husband paid for a home inspection two months ago was worth it.

"You have to think about the money you're spending. ... Even if it's a newly built property, if you're not in the building trade, you don't even begin to know what to look for," Emery says. "I look at it as insurance. It's just money well spent."

Paul and Janis Emery were interested in a rustic Western red cedar home nestled in the woods just outside Clarksville's city limits. They could see there was a crack in the foundation, but it didn't look serious. They called Johnny Goad, owner of J.W. Goad Home Inspections, to come check it out.

"We knew the foundation was cracked," Janis Emery says. "We didn't realize the extent of the damage. Mr. Goad also pointed out some other structural problems in the house we didn't pick up on."

The Emerys decided against buying the house.

Goad is a third-generation homebuilder who began inspecting homes in 2006. He says most people think about having a professional home inspection when they're about to buy a house. Few think about it when they're looking to sell a house, and even fewer think about having an inspection done on a house they've been happily living in for years.

Goad says the seller's inspection is a useful tool. Your home may get a clean bill of health, a useful selling tool. Some inspectors offer password-protected links to your full report online, so sellers can direct potential buyers to the report even before they see the home.

On the other hand, if the home has problems, sellers have the option of fixing them before a buyer or buyer's inspector ever sees them.

"By having the house inspected before they put it on the market, then they're not caught by surprise," Goad says.

Sellers could avoid the heartbreak of having a great sale disappear once the buyer's home inspector files his report.

Maintenance inspections can provide peace of mind that all systems and structures are in good shape, or can give homeowners advance warning of problems.

"Most homeowners never see the far corner of the crawl space, the far corner of the attic," Goad says. "It's good to know what you may need to have done that may be being neglected. If you find something that needs repair in the near future, you can budget for that repair. You have time to get several estimates before it becomes absolutely necessary to have it done."

Goad says the most common problem he finds in any home inspection is moisture. Water in a crawl space or an attic is a problem that can usually be fixed pretty easily, but if the water sits for months or years, mold and rot become bigger issues.

"Some things you may be able to catch before it gets out of hand and becomes a much more costly repair," Goad says. "Especially water-related damage. They only end up getting worse."

If you've never had a home inspection, you would probably be surprised by how thorough it is. A home inspection should take at least two hours and may stretch to four hours or longer depending on the size and condition of the house. The inspector will look at every area of the house, from the basement to the roof.

According to the American Society of Home Inspectors, the standard home inspector's report will cover the condition of the home's heating system; central air-conditioning system; interior plumbing and electrical systems; the roof, attic and insulation; walls, ceilings, floors, windows and doors; and the foundation, basement and structure. The price of the inspection varies according to geography, the size of the home, and whether optional services, such as a test for radon, are necessary. The average cost of an inspection is between $250 and $350, according to Christiana Brenner, a spokeswoman for ASHI.

"My husband said it was the best money we ever spent," Janis Emery says. "It saved us untold thousands."