Home Inspections: Tips and Common Findings

In 2020 alone, more than 6.5 million homes were sold across the United States of America. Before every single one of these properties was sold, both buyer and seller were likely to undergo a home inspection. Home inspections are pivotal to the real estate market because they ensure both parties are protected from potential issues that may manifest following a sale.

Let’s take a closer look at home inspections, what to expect, and why they are so important.

What To Expect From a Home Inspection

Home inspections are thorough assessments of a property’s overall physical condition. Inspections are performed by licensed professionals who have been trained to visually assess and identify issues. Inspectors will traverse every inch of a property, from foundation to attic, to find issues that may manifest into costly or dangerous scenarios.

Common Findings During a Home Inspection

Home inspections are vital to the real estate industry as they give both parties a chance to assess issues before going through with a deal. For a buyer, this means potentially saving themselves from buying a property with hidden damage. For the seller, home inspections provide the opportunity to upgrade and maximize the value of a home.

The most common results of a home inspection will yield the following information.

1. Roofing Damage – Nearly 20% of home inspections will yield at least one issue with the roof of a property. Roofing issues can vary in terms of how problematic they are. Leaks, material degradation, and ventilation issues are the most common inspector-detected roofing problems.
2. Electrical Wiring – Nearly 52,000 electrical fires are started every single year within residential buildings due to improper wiring practices. Make sure that your property is up to code before buying or selling it. Frayed insulation, mismatched wiring, and rodent-related damage can all be identified during an inspection.
3. Plumbing Issues – Plumbing issues may range from severe to barely noticeable. A leaky faucet won’t cause an inspection to fail, but outdated pipes and mismatched DIY solutions can cause serious headaches.
4. Termite/Pest Damage – Don’t buy a home with a shaky foundation and don’t purchase a home that is infested with termites, two concepts every property owner should live by. Termite damage can cause structural issues that go unnoticed for years, often long after there is any time to prevent the issue. A skilled inspector can suss out any potential infestation during an inspection.

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