Home Inspection Notice: Fill & Download for Free

Oh, it’s such perfect timing that this question popped up on my feed. We bought our house in 2018, we did a home inspection, had a homeowner’s disclosure. Everything.It turns out my master bedroom has no heat.yup. Zero. No wonder at the home inspection he had a fire going so hot the house had to be 80 degrees (F). It was March in northern New Jersey when we had our inspection. So we moved in June 28th, all is awesome until late September when I notice my bedroom is freezing but I have the heat on. I finally looked for the vents in the floor. None. I felt so conned. That smug little cop bastard knew all along and so did his realtor.We use a space heater throughout the winter, and we’re looking into getting ducts installed. It’s not going to be cheap. And no, I have no idea why there isn’t heat in my room. The house was built in 1891.

Yes. We had one that started out great. Asked if he could hang the TV up and a few pictures. Sure. Go for it. A few months later my properties neighbor called and asked did we say guy could paint the fence blue on the neighbor side? Heck no! Went over there and guy said he didn't like the natural fence with a white house so he painted it blue. I told him I would be back for a home inspection in two days.I expected access to my house. He said “I live here you don't”. I reminded him he only lives there because I collect rent from him and if I'm not allowed in my home with OVER 24 hours notice then he's out in three days for gross violation of the lease.I got in the house and he's taken down walls, installed a washer in the bedroom, and painted everything black. I evicted him and sued for damages. The guy still owes me half of the settlement. Research your tenants, my friends. Research.

Readers routinely ask me what odd or unusual things I have encountered during my home inspection career. Although I try to anticipate almost anything on a home inspection, I have definitely been surprised.Surprises included water leaks in the crawlspace, parts of the house without access (no hatch or entry to the attic or to the crawlspace), and sub flooring held up by bar-stools. In several instances access to the crawlspace was via floorboards that were not fastened down. I felt like Nancy Drew searching for mystery clues.One winter I inspected a lovely 6,500 square foot manse on a hill in the woods. The home was vacant, and the seller had turned the water back on the day before the inspection. The real estate agent and I arrived in the morning and entered through the front door. We both heard water when we entered the foyer. We walked towards the sound and ended up at the top of the stairs to a very dark basement. I pulled out my flashlight. About halfway down the stairs, inky water lapped at the carpet. An outside faucet had burst, releasing thousands of gallons of water into the walls of the basement, creating an unintended swimming pool.Crawlspaces are important inspection areas. You can find water leaks, missing duct-work, loose insulation, structural deficiencies, and plumbing problems. I always crawl to every corner to look at everything. One time I entered a 100-year-old home’s crawlspace that had about 24 inches of crawl clearance. I pointed my flashlight ahead of me as I squiggled and squirmed over the damp dirt floor from the outside. Out of the corner of my eye I saw quick movement and reflections of multiple eyes. I stopped, frozen in my crawl, thinking I was coming up on a den of snakes. My heart raced. The movement ahead of me stopped. I trained my flashlight slowly back to the corner. At least 3 sets of big eyes and 4 sets of little eyes were looking at me, motionless. Raccoons! Whew, I took a breath. Then I noticed 4 scissors jacks to my right, holding up the floor of the old home. These jacks are the kind you keep in your car to change a flat, not to hold up a house. As I kept the light pointed toward the raccoon family, I noticed with another stab of fear that the jacks were rusted through and were probably on the verge of collapse. If you had been there, you would have seen me doing the strangest of backward wiggles to exit that particular crawlspace.In another inspection of a vacant home, a full length “secret” cabinet door led to a large closet space with a door at the end. This door was locked but the key was in the knob. I turned the key in the lock, and rotated the knob. The door creaked open towards me and dust particles floated in the beam of my flashlight. Behind the door was . . . nothing. I played my flashlight into the void, discovering a 7 foot drop to a dirt floor with no stairs!The moral of these stories is: Bring a good flashlight and a ladder with you to inspections, and know how to wiggle backwards.Hope this was fun! Read more home inspection stories: House Keys: The Essential Homeowner's Guide to Saving Money, Time, and Your Sanity Building, Buying, Selling, and Maintaining a Home: Lisa Turner: 9781546350316: Amazon.com: Books