What Your Home Inspection Should Cover

* Siding: Look for dents or buckling
* Foundations: Look for cracks or water seepage
* Exterior Brick: Look for cracked bricks or mortar pulling away from bricks
* Insulation: Look for condition, adequate rating for climate
* Doors and Windows: Look for loose or tight fits, condition of locks, condition of weather-stripping
* Roof: Look for age, conditions of flashing, pooling water, buckled shingles, or loose gutters and downspouts
* Ceilings, walls, and moldings: Look for loose pieces, drywall that is pulling away
* Porch/Deck: Loose railings or step, rot
* Electrical: Look for condition of fuse box/circuit breakers, number of outlets in each room
* Plumbing: Look for poor water pressure, banging pipes, rust spots or corrosion that indicate leaks, sufficient insulation
* Water Heater: Look for age, size adequate for house, speed of recovery, energy rating
* Furnace/Air Conditioning: Look for age, energy rating; Furnaces are rated by annual fuel utilization efficiency; the higher the rating, the lower your fuel costs. However, other factors such as payback period and other operating costs, such as electricity to operate motors.
* Garage: Look for exterior in good repair; condition of floor—cracks, stains, etc.; condition of door mechanism
* Basement: Look for water leakage, musty smell
* Attic: Look for adequate ventilation, water leaks from roof
* Septic Tanks (if applicable): Adequate absorption field capacity for the percolation rate in your area and the size of your family
* Driveways/Sidewalks: Look for cracks, heaving pavement, crumbling near edges, stains

Reprinted from REALTOR® Magazine Online by permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®Copyright 2005. All rights reserved.                        www.REALTOR.org/realtormag