Property Inspection Report: Fill & Download for Free

A quick anecdote about my first home purchase. My realtor told me, ‘this is the point where I tell all my clients to get an inspection. Except for you, you will know better than any inspector.’I found things that concerned me, figure that into the deal, and got the home. Just to find out that what I thought was rot in the floor, turned out to be structural. For me a simple fix, relatively cheap, and I was done.Being a former contractor, and still in the construction industry, I will tell you to make them repair, or negotiate the price. I would also consult with your lawyer (preferably a real estate lawyer), about wordage in the sale that binds the previous owner in the event that there are more than the obvious items on the list wrong.I have a customer who purchased their home approx a year ago. Their inspectors caught the obvious damage and they negotiated price based on that. What my customer didn't know until engaging my company for the repairs (that needed doing, the known ones) was the amount of the damage that the inspector didn't find, because they are not allowed to do destructive investigations.Basically what should have been at max a 14 day, 40k repair, has turned into a minimum 21 day, 70k plus repair.Make sure you know what you are buying.Cover your backside, or as others have mentioned let the sale go. It would not be worth the hassle, and stress to find out later that you had more issues than initially thought.One last anecdote. I have a client who had two properties they were considering to put up for sale. The inspector went through one, and verbally told my client that it was a structural failure and needed to be leveled. I have worked on this house at various times over the course of 6 plus years, and could attest that there was not any significant structural issue that would have required the leveling of the home.

Check the website International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI) . It may direct you to an inspector in your area.

What is the one big no-no that will make you avoid buying a house?My biggest no-no (or red flag if you will) is when I find Lipstick on the Pig.There are many people who make a living flipping houses and do a great job at updating an old house and making a gem. There are just as many who are sloppy and deceitful with their work just to turn a buck. When looking at a house I look for certain tell-tale signs that someone is trying to cover up minor issues, because if they are doing that, they’re probably covering major ones also. Here are some key areas I look out for.Inside versus outside condition. If the condition of either the inside or outside of a property is neglected, rest assured that it was all neglected and someone just spruced up one or the other. If the interior looks good with a fresh coat of paint and new carpet, but the exterior is crumbling, beware or hidden damage on the inside.Ownership history with rapid turnover: Check your county records and look at historical sales. Some houses are lemons and will change hands time after time. Maybe it's a problem with the condition of the property, but maybe there is a nasty neighbor that drives people away, or maybe you don’t realize that the property is 1/4 mile away from a rail line that will rattle you out of your bed 4 times every night.Look in wet areas for water damage that has been freshly painted over. This can be a sign of mold that has been concealed instead of correctly remediated. Look carefully at the underside of drawers and sinks in the kitchen and look for wallboard damage around toilets and tubs. Mold hides in dark, sealed places that are hard to inspect. Since mold can be dangerous to your health, don’t take chances here.Look for recent repair work on the HVAC. If there is any, make sure you get copies of the repair work so you know what the issue is and if it was actually resolved.Look for patched cracks coming from doorways and around staircases. Minor settling cracks are to be expected, but gaps over 1/4 inch that have been filled or cracks that run laterally across a wall can be signs of big foundation issues.Beware of deodorants or strong room fresheners. If they are trying to mask the smell of something, you need to figure out what it is. Be especially cautious if the usage is strong in an unfinished basement or crawlspace.Areas the seller won’t let you see. If a seller won’t allow access to the crawlspace or a room in the property until you are under contract, they probably have something to hide.Be very wary of sellers that want to provide incentives to waive inspection objection rights. There is no reason to waive those rights unless there is something big to hide.In all cases, make sure you find and use a competent inspection service. Don’t just open the phone book and pick someone as in most states all you have to do to become a home inspector is say that you are one. A good real estate agent as your buyer’s agent is a good place to start for a reference.Update RE Inspectors:For those that are commenting to not trust an inspector recommended by your Real Estate Agent, I have one question: How are you going to find someone to trust?If you do not trust your agent, then you are truly screwed all the way around. Yes, the agent is motivated to make sure you buy the property, but they are also ethically and legally bound to work for your best interests. If you think that Googling “Best property inspector” is going to get you a good home inspector, you are dreaming. You will simply get the home inspector service that is the best at marketing.I was under contract to purchase a property in 2013 that had a previous sale fall through. The previous buyer had gotten all the way to closing day when their financing fell through. The sellers were frantic as they were building a new home and needed the proceeds from the sale to close on their new home. I came in as an investor that could close quickly with cash. To “help”, the seller’s agent provided the inspection report from the previous buyer hoping to skip my inspection.The inspection report was from a company AmeriSpec (IIRC) and carried a hefty fee of $495. Their website made all types of promises about a thorough 400-point inspection and that all inspectors were certified. The report was certainly impressive in size. It was over 50 pages long and had the advertised 400 points in it. Unfortunately it was just a bunch of fluff. I read through it and there was NOTHING of substance. Comments about some caulking in the tubs and around sinks. A couple cracked switch plates and the observation that the carpet was worn. Everything else was A-OK.The inspection sheet from my inspector, referred to me by my agent, is only 6 pages long. He documented 9 major issues, about 20 lesser issues, and a ton of maintenance items.Just a sample:The gas fireplace didn’t work - Thermocouple had failedThe water heater was leaking into the burn chamber - Not visible outside as it was slow, but the tank’s failure was eminentThe AC didn’t work - Compressor was shot, sounded like you had rocks in a blender when you spun it upThe heater was leaking carbon monoxide - had a crack in the heat exchangerCO detectors were not functional - had batteries removed and disconnected from house power (Gee, I wonder why)3 recently active leaks (behind the refrigerator, under the kitchen sink, and behind the washer) All had mold painted over with no remediationBottom oven coil didn’t work - Controller broken, cheaper to buy new stove than repairCeiling fan in living room hacked in by previous owner with no electrical box or appropriate support.Tile on one bath enclosure had gotten water behind it and popped off - reattached with caulking without remediating wall damage or mold2 dead wall sockets - Someone had tried to branch a circuit off in one box and damaged the wiringBest $175 I had spent.Normally I will only send back the items I won’t accept and expect to be fixed or negotiated, the rest of the report is not sent over. In this case we sent the entire thing so in case the deal fell through, they’d have to disclose everything my inspection had found. This made the seller’s agent very, very unhappy as she knew that some of the items I sent over (such as the electrical and heater issues) would make the house non-financeable unless repaired.In my formal objection I did not give them an option to repair themselves as they were obviously trying to put lipstick on the pig and I wouldn’t trust any of their repairs. I offered a contract price drop of $15k or I walked. They took it.If it’s between Google and your agent, go with your agent every time.