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Nov. 12th, 2013 10:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pegunicent1) Will: Inspect your electrical. A proper home inspector will look at your circuit breaker, your wall outlets, and your appliances and tell you if there is anything that looks dangerous or isn't working.
2) Won't: Completely inspect your electrical. A home inspector is not going to open your walls. There could be a lot of issues hidden by the dry wall and unless there's an obvious issue like exposed wires, wires running against your copper pipes, or a knob and tube staring down from the ceiling, the inspector might not catch it.
3) Will: Inspect your roofing. A good home inspector will check out your roof for drainage, mold, leaking, intact soffits and animals. A really good inspector will get up on a ladder or even on the roof to check it. They'll tell you how old it is, and how long that kind of roof typically lasts. Your house will never be typical.
4) Won't: Inspect the environment. If you have a yard, or trees, you have potentially clogged drains, cracked pipes, septic problems, and insects. A home inspector checks the house, not the environment around it and all those costly issues may be lurking just outside his view.
5) Will: Examine all potential leaks and report any water damage. Water damage anywhere is a major problem that can lead to mold, structural problems and hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs. A home inspector's job is to catch leaks and warn you about them, from rain, flood, or pipes.
6) Won't: Ensure code compliance. A typical home inspector doesn't actually check for code compliance, and most will tell you that they aren't up to date on all codes. For that you will need a specialist, especially if you plan to renovate.
7) Will: Check that your AC and heater are working and not leaking gas, rusted, or about to blow up or catch your house on fire. This means turning them on, sniffing, maybe check the filters. Efficiency isn't a necessity.
8) Won't: Inspect your AC and heater are working efficiently. This again means opening up the walls and checking the ducts, checking the return, and spending time in each room to see if it heats and cools properly. A lot of trouble could be laying out of sight behind the bright paint, and your home inspector doesn't have x-ray vision.
9) Will: Check the roof insulation for proper depth. This depends on types of insulation as well, some are better than others, chances are you'll have just enough, or you can negotiate to get just enough, but it's like the custom insoles in your shoes. You don't know you need it until you don't have it and it sounds like an extravagance no matter how you spin it.
10) Won't: Check the walls for insulation or vapor barrier. Again; walls, opening, they do not do.
11) Will: Look for dry rot on any exposed wood. Dry rot is caused by fungus, and can destroy sidings, decking, walls and your bank account. There's nothing to do but rip out the infect wood, replace it, and cry.
12) Won't: Look for asbestos or radon gas. Get specialists for this, chances are you have it. The older the house, the higher the chances. Asbestos is the evil boogeyman lurking in houses waiting to devour your hopes and dreams, leaving you wailing to an uncaring mortgage.
13) Will: Inspect all chimneys, eaves, attics and crawlspaces for animals and obvious issues. This means standing water, mold, hornets, and small children. Sloping, cracks, exposed wires should all be noted and taken care of either before moving in, or as soon as possible after. The children are up to you.
14) Won't: Catch all the pests. Termites, carpenter ants, mice and rats can all escape inspection if their damage isn't obvious. Check when the house last had an exterminator service. Especially if you find small children.
15) Will: Examine brick and stone work, mortar wear, and point out broken concrete or brick work. These can be costly to repair, and often you can negotiate it in the selling price. This includes shifting in the foundation, or sloping of the foundation that can trap water in the crawlspace.
16) Won't: Check the pool. The pool, even inside the house, does not qualify as part of the house. Most inspectors aren't trained to do more than look at a pool and go 'yup, it has water'. Get a pool person.
17) Will: Examine materials of walls and roof for aging, home style and architecture details. A good inspector will take note of a house built in the olden days and point out the added wings that might have sloppy construction or underlying problems. A real good one will tell you what kinds of problems are common to that style of home in particular.
16) Won't: Examine for lifestyle. The home inspector examines for overall livability and safety. Those stair railings that your baby can slip through? Are your to ponder. Ensuring the house fits your lifestyle is your own responsibility. What's perfect for a pair of flat mates isn't right for expecting parents, and vice versa. Also, that pool may not be safe at all for the child you discovered in the crawlspace.
17) Will: Check all the windows. Leaking isn't the only thing to go wrong with windows; caulking, air leaks and animal evidence are all potential indicators of worse problems underneath the walls. In one case a window noted from the outside was not accessible from inside the house, showing that an attic had been completely sealed off behind plaster and paint. A good inspector will note this and ask why.
18) Won't: Examine for hazardous materials. Like asbestos and radon, lead paint, corroded pipes and other minor hazardous materials are not under an inspectors purview. If you want to know if your small child is at risk of inhaling toxic metals in your new home, get someone licensed to inspect it. The house, and your child.
2) Won't: Completely inspect your electrical. A home inspector is not going to open your walls. There could be a lot of issues hidden by the dry wall and unless there's an obvious issue like exposed wires, wires running against your copper pipes, or a knob and tube staring down from the ceiling, the inspector might not catch it.
3) Will: Inspect your roofing. A good home inspector will check out your roof for drainage, mold, leaking, intact soffits and animals. A really good inspector will get up on a ladder or even on the roof to check it. They'll tell you how old it is, and how long that kind of roof typically lasts. Your house will never be typical.
4) Won't: Inspect the environment. If you have a yard, or trees, you have potentially clogged drains, cracked pipes, septic problems, and insects. A home inspector checks the house, not the environment around it and all those costly issues may be lurking just outside his view.
5) Will: Examine all potential leaks and report any water damage. Water damage anywhere is a major problem that can lead to mold, structural problems and hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs. A home inspector's job is to catch leaks and warn you about them, from rain, flood, or pipes.
6) Won't: Ensure code compliance. A typical home inspector doesn't actually check for code compliance, and most will tell you that they aren't up to date on all codes. For that you will need a specialist, especially if you plan to renovate.
7) Will: Check that your AC and heater are working and not leaking gas, rusted, or about to blow up or catch your house on fire. This means turning them on, sniffing, maybe check the filters. Efficiency isn't a necessity.
8) Won't: Inspect your AC and heater are working efficiently. This again means opening up the walls and checking the ducts, checking the return, and spending time in each room to see if it heats and cools properly. A lot of trouble could be laying out of sight behind the bright paint, and your home inspector doesn't have x-ray vision.
9) Will: Check the roof insulation for proper depth. This depends on types of insulation as well, some are better than others, chances are you'll have just enough, or you can negotiate to get just enough, but it's like the custom insoles in your shoes. You don't know you need it until you don't have it and it sounds like an extravagance no matter how you spin it.
10) Won't: Check the walls for insulation or vapor barrier. Again; walls, opening, they do not do.
11) Will: Look for dry rot on any exposed wood. Dry rot is caused by fungus, and can destroy sidings, decking, walls and your bank account. There's nothing to do but rip out the infect wood, replace it, and cry.
12) Won't: Look for asbestos or radon gas. Get specialists for this, chances are you have it. The older the house, the higher the chances. Asbestos is the evil boogeyman lurking in houses waiting to devour your hopes and dreams, leaving you wailing to an uncaring mortgage.
13) Will: Inspect all chimneys, eaves, attics and crawlspaces for animals and obvious issues. This means standing water, mold, hornets, and small children. Sloping, cracks, exposed wires should all be noted and taken care of either before moving in, or as soon as possible after. The children are up to you.
14) Won't: Catch all the pests. Termites, carpenter ants, mice and rats can all escape inspection if their damage isn't obvious. Check when the house last had an exterminator service. Especially if you find small children.
15) Will: Examine brick and stone work, mortar wear, and point out broken concrete or brick work. These can be costly to repair, and often you can negotiate it in the selling price. This includes shifting in the foundation, or sloping of the foundation that can trap water in the crawlspace.
16) Won't: Check the pool. The pool, even inside the house, does not qualify as part of the house. Most inspectors aren't trained to do more than look at a pool and go 'yup, it has water'. Get a pool person.
17) Will: Examine materials of walls and roof for aging, home style and architecture details. A good inspector will take note of a house built in the olden days and point out the added wings that might have sloppy construction or underlying problems. A real good one will tell you what kinds of problems are common to that style of home in particular.
16) Won't: Examine for lifestyle. The home inspector examines for overall livability and safety. Those stair railings that your baby can slip through? Are your to ponder. Ensuring the house fits your lifestyle is your own responsibility. What's perfect for a pair of flat mates isn't right for expecting parents, and vice versa. Also, that pool may not be safe at all for the child you discovered in the crawlspace.
17) Will: Check all the windows. Leaking isn't the only thing to go wrong with windows; caulking, air leaks and animal evidence are all potential indicators of worse problems underneath the walls. In one case a window noted from the outside was not accessible from inside the house, showing that an attic had been completely sealed off behind plaster and paint. A good inspector will note this and ask why.
18) Won't: Examine for hazardous materials. Like asbestos and radon, lead paint, corroded pipes and other minor hazardous materials are not under an inspectors purview. If you want to know if your small child is at risk of inhaling toxic metals in your new home, get someone licensed to inspect it. The house, and your child.
