Buyer’s Home Inspection Checklist

Two of our most common questions answered are from buyers about what their role should be before, during and after a home inspection, and what the home inspection covers.

Buyer’s Tasks for a Home Inspection

Before Your Home Inspection

Search for reputable and professional home inspector. You can ask your real estate agent or friends/family.

You can search online for a home inspector in your area.  Semper Fi Home Inspections serves all of the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

Check your home inspector’s website. This will often provide you information such as the cost of your home inspection and allow you to book online.  It will often also provide information about other benefits the provide that not all home inspectors may offer.  For example, here at Semper Fi Home Inspections, we provide thorough and informative same-day reports, plus over $2,500 in free warranty coverage with every complete home inspection.

During Your Home Inspection

Plan to attend the home inspection for your prospective property if possible. This will allow you to see some of the same issues your home inspector sees, and ask questions about the ones that you may have not noticed that they will bring up.

Don’t worry about the number of items that come up during an inspection. Often, these issues will be minor, or may be noted for future awareness. Being present means that you will be able to dig into the potential severity of these issues.

Also consider your attire if you attend the inspection. We look not just inside the home, but we also check the attic, basement if there is one, the roof and exterior, and outbuildings. While you may not want to crawl into the attic, you may want to climb the ladder far enough to look in, and you may want to walk into a potentially muddy field with us to check outbuildings. This may mean weather could be a factor, or spaces – such as older barns – where there may be some dirt, mud, grass, debris. Depending upon the home location and the weather, you may need to have sturdy shoes and a raincoat, for example.

After Your Home Inspection

Review the inspection report fully. Our home inspection reports from Semper Fi will contain a summary of all noted findings at the end of the report. We also provide full color photos and video as appropriate.

Ask your real estate agent if you are unsure about any of the terminology or recommendations.

Determine if there are findings noted that should be a cause for concern, such as hazards or broken items that require immediate repair.  For those items, you may want to consider negotiating for the seller to cover part of all of the repairs or negotiation a discount on the purchase price of the home. Your real estate agent can provide you with some suggestions.

For items that you plan to repair yourself after your home sale closes, start making your budget so that you will have a solid understanding of the true cost of your new home.

Home Inspection Checklist

These are the types of home systems that your home inspection will include:

• Grounds: Standing water, faulty grading, sick or dying trees and shrubs, crumbling paths and walls
• Structure: Foundation integrity, rotting or out-of-plumb window and door frames
• Roof: Defects in shingles, flashing, and fascia; loose and hanging gutters; defects in chimneys and skylights
• Exterior: Cracks or rot; dents or bowing in vinyl; blistering or flaking paint; adequate clearing between siding and earth
• Window, doors, trim: Rotting frames, peeling caulk, damaged glass
• Interior rooms: Water-stained ceilings, adequate insulation, and sufficient heating vents
• Kitchen: Proper venting, no leaks under the sink, and cabinet doors and drawers operate properly
• Bathrooms: Toilets flush properly, showers spray, and tubs are securely fastened
• Attic and Basement: no evidence of moisture, no evidence of decay, insulation sufficient and installed properly, sump pump operates properly
• Plumbing: Drains flow properly; water has proper temperature and pressure
• Electrical: Proper electrical panels and working light switches and outlets