What Your Home Inspection Should Cover

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
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, drywall 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
Attic: Look for adequate ventilation, water leaks from roof
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

Reprinted from REALTOR Magazine Online by permission of the National Association of Realtors

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 of 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 grounding prong
Plumbing problems. Very low water pressure, banging in pipes