For many of you, this will be your first home purchase and, if you were like my wife and I, you don’t really know what to expect from a home inspection or the report that will follow. The intent of this article is to give you a better understanding of what you’ll receive in your report following your home inspection.
Following your home inspection, your inspector will return to his/her office and immediately begin working on your report. They will review all of the information captured during the actual inspection to include notes, photos, model numbers of installed appliances including water heaters, furnaces, HVAC units, and more. At this point, the inspector will begin typing your report and placing photographs within to help you better understand the home you’re purchasing.
The report will be divided into sections. The title page will contain a large photo of the front of your new home with some contact information. Next, you’ll find a table of contents that will help guide you through the report. If you choose to receive the report electronically (recommended), you can simply click on any item in the table of contacts to be directed to that section.
The next portion is really the meat of the report. This portion is broken down into the following sections: Roofing, Exterior, Garage, Interiors, Structural Components, Plumbing System, Electrical System, Heating/Central Air Conditioning, Insulation and Ventilation, and Built-In Kitchen Appliances. Within these sections, you’ll find various comments that relate to the condition of the inspected item at the time of the inspection as well as a rating, labeled either Satisfactory (S), Marginal (M), Poor (P), or Not Inspected (NI).
For each item, the inspector will provide one of the four ratings along with an explanation and a photograph. The photograph may contain graphics that ensure you understand what you’re looking at and possibly diagrams of how a component should operate if necessary. The inspector may also make suggestions on how to fix the issue and whether or not it’s a major or minor repair.
Not to worry, any item marked anything other than ‘Satisfactory’ will have already been discussed with you at the end of the inspection when you receive your walk-through. Keep in mind, every home will have its fair share of Marginal and Poor items, even my own.
Following these categories, you’ll arrive at the ‘Summary’ section. This is probably the most important section to you if you’re crunched for time because it combines all of the Marginal and Poor items in one location. Here, you’ll find photos, descriptions, and graphics that clearly explain the inspection component in question.
If you and your agent have chosen to receive the report electronically, you can now easily create a Custom Repair List on some agreed upon items to provide to the seller’s agent. This saves both you and your realtor time and gets you into your dream home quicker.
Once you receive your report, we recommend printing off a copy and keeping it in a safe place to reference in the future. The report contains a lot of useful information regarding not only the current state of your home but its on-going maintenance as well. Of course, should you ever have any questions about anything in your report, we will be more than happy to help.
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