What Your Tennessee Home Inspector Should Include in Your Inspection

Kim Blanton (Keller Williams Realty) — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 17:41:10 -0700

In this day and age, it is very important to have an independent home inspection done as part of your due dilegence process of home buying. This can save you thousands of dollars in years to come. Please visit http://homesbykimblanton.com

What your Tennessee Home Inspection Should Include:

Siding: Look for dents or buckling

Foundations: Look for cracks or water seepage

Exterior Brick: Look for cracked bricks or mortar pulling away from bricks

Insulation: Look for condition, adequate rating for climate (the higher the R value, the more effective the insulation is)

Doors and Windows: Look for loose or tight fits, condition of locks, condition of weatherstripping

Roof: Look for age, conditions of flashing, pooling water, buckled shingles, or loose gutters and downspouts

Ceilings, walls, and moldings: Look for loose pieces, dry wall that is pulling away.

Porch/Deck: Loose railings or step, rot

Electrical: Look for condition of fuse box/circuit breakers, number of outlets in each room

Plumbing: Look for poor water pressure, banging pipes, rust spots or corrosion that indicate leaks, sufficient insulation

Water Heater: Look for age, size adequate for house, speed of recovery, energy rating.

Furnace/Air Conditioning: Look for age, energy rating. Furnaces are rated by annual fuel utilization efficiency; the higher the rating, the lower your fuel costs. However, other factors such as payback period and other operating costs, such as electricity to operate motors.

Garage: Look for exterior in good repair; condition of floor'cracks, stains, etc.; condition of door mechanism.

Basement: Look for water leakage, musty smell.roof.

Attic: Look for adequate ventilation, water leaks from

Septic Tanks (if applicable): Adequate absorption field capacity for the percolation rate in your area and the size of your family.

Driveways/Sidewalks: Look for cracks, heaving pavement, crumbling near edges, stains.

No home is flawless, but certain physical problems can be expensive. Watch for:

Water leaks. Look for stains on ceilings and near the baseboards, especially in basements or attics.

Shifting foundations. Look for large cracks along the home's foundation>

Drainage. Look for standing water, either around the foundation of the home, in the crawl space or in the yard. .

Termites. Look for weakened or grooved wood, especially near ground level. .

Worn roofs. Look for broken or missing copings and buckled shingles as well as water spots on ceilings.

Inadequate wiring. Look for antiquated fuse boxes, extension cords(indicating insufficient outlets), and outlets without a place to plug in the ground prong.

Choose a qualified Tennessee Home Inspector. Find a Tennessee Home Inspector at The National Association of Home Inspectors, Inc. http://www.nahi.org/

A home inspector is sometimes confused with a real estate appraiser. A Tennessee home inspector determines the condition of a structure, whereas an appraiser determines the value of a property

Also see: http://homesbykimblanton.com

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What Your Tennessee Home Inspector Should Include in Your Inspection