The inspection, and what to do with what it finds
What an inspector does, what they cannot see, and how to read a report without panicking.
5 minute read
The inspection is for you, not for the lender. It is the one point where somebody who knows buildings looks at this one on your behalf, and the report is long enough to frighten anyone reading their first.
What it covers
Structure, roof, foundation, electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling, drainage, and the visible condition of everything else.
Go if you can. An hour walking round with the inspector teaches you more about the house than the report will, and you can ask what actually worries them.
What it cannot cover
Anything behind a wall, under a floor, or otherwise not visible. Inspectors do not open up finishes.
Specialist issues often need a specialist: sewer lines, chimneys, pools, structural questions, pests. If the general inspection flags something, that is a prompt to get somebody specific, not a verdict.
Reading the report
Every report on every house is long. A fifty-item list on a well-kept house is normal; most of it is maintenance notes.
Sort it into three: safety, structure and systems; things that will need money within a few years; and cosmetic. Negotiate on the first, budget for the second, ignore the third.
When to walk away
When the problems are structural and the seller will not move. When something serious is beyond what you can afford to fix. When the pattern suggests years of deferred maintenance rather than one bad component.
That is what the contingency is for. Using it is not failure; it is the protection working.
The short version
- The inspection is for you. Attend it.
- Long reports are normal. Sort by safety, cost and cosmetics.
- A flagged issue is a prompt for a specialist, not a verdict.
This is general information, not advice about your situation. Zoila Moscoso can tell you what applies to you.
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What to bring, what to check the day before, and when you actually get the keys.