Buying or selling a home can be stressful. A home inspector is suppose to create a peace of mind with the home inspection. Often the opposite happens. The buyer is asked to absorb a lot of detail and information in a very short time. (Most inspections take 1-3 hours.) In that time there are reports, photos, checklists, photos, possible environmental issues to be addressed, and any questions that you have that need answering. Take this and add the sellers disclosures and issues you noted on your home preview - talk about overwhelming! What should you do? This article is to help you get a handle on the purpose of a home inspection and to offer some home inspection procedures.
We suggest you relax. Most of the inspection will be maintenance recommendations, life expectancies and minor imperfections. These things are all nice to know about. Just remember that that the issues that really matter will fall into 4 categories.
- Major defects. This would be structural or mechanical failure.
- Something that could lead to a major defect. A small roof flashing leak, for example.
- Something that may create problems when it comes to the financing or legally living in the home.
- Safety issues such as exposed wiring, or gas leaks.
Anything in these areas should be addressed. Often a serious problem can be corrected immediately and at a low cost. This can protect both the property and a life.
Most sellers are honest and are often surprised to learn of the defects uncovered during an inspection. Understand that sellers are under no obligation to repair everything mentioned in the report. know that no home is perfect. Keep things in perspective. Do not kill your deal over things that do not matter. It is inappropriate to demand that a seller address deferred maintenance, conditions already on the seller's disclosure, obvious issues noted while walking through before your made your offer, or nit-picky items.
If you are a HOME SELLER You could sell your home for more by getting a pre sale inspection
Scope of the Home Inspection
Below is a generalized list of items included in our full home inspection. There is not enough space here to list everything that will be inspected. Parts of a house that would have to be damaged or are unsafe to inspect will not be inspected. If you have any questions, please call me.
Structure - The foundation, floors, framework, chimney. This will also include the inspector entering the crawl space, basement and attic when applicable, and if possible. I have no problem entering almost all attics and crawl spaces.
Electrical- Service line, capabilities (volts/amps), main breaker, fuse/breaker box (location and internal condition) proper grounding, correct sizing of breakers and/or fuses, panels (location and internal condition), wiring installation, condition of wiring, electrical distribution, operation of GFCI/AFCI's, switches and outlets, light fixtures.
Plumbing - The condition of water supply and waste removal systems, including evidence of leaks, proper venting, etc. All operational water fixtures and drains will be operated and inspected. Numerous fixtures will be run at once to test for proper water pressure and drainage from the sewer line.
Heating - Operational check and visual inspection of the primary heating system, including duct work, radiators and pipes (for boiler systems), and a test for carbon monoxide to verify the condition of the heat exchanger for forced air or gravity systems.
Air Conditioning - Operational check and visual inspection of the central AC system (weather permitting - the outside temperature must be above 65 degrees).
Exterior- Porches, decks, grounds (including grading, drainage, etc.), masonry and siding, fascia, trim, eaves, soffits, sidewalks, driveway, windows, doors.
Roof- Covering material, gutters, downspouts, flashings.
Interior - Cracks, water stains, fit of windows and doors, level and structural condition of floors.
Garages / Out-buildings - Structural condition, roof, floor, doors, windows, electrical, automatic door openers, miscellaneous features.
Now go get that home inspection.
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Good article. I'm a home inspector and I agree that the information is overwhelming. I often wish we could just report on the major items as it would make my job so much easier. I also realize that many people can't distinguish between major and minor items. So now I have to qualify everything to put it into perspective. ...More work. In my reports, ( http://final-analysis.com/sample_reports.htm) I created the very catagories mentioned above. Each inspction finding falls into a corresponding summary so the client and agent can quickly distinguish the issues. I've even gone further and insert a comment identifying the major concerns as a preview in the report intro. The more complicated it gets the more we have to try and simplify.