What Your Home
Inspection Should Cover
- Siding: Look for dents and 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,
conditions of locks, conditions 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 pulled 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 indicates 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 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 Tank (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.