Last night my counter offer on a older rancher house was accepted. So on Tuesday I will be doing a house inspection. I have 20 pluss years in construction. Doues any one have any ideas that i may have missed in the basic list below?

So i will be checking structural, electrical, roof needs replacement as does all flooring ( my choice to). It is a slab on grade on foundation walls style of construction. Alumn, double glazed windows. 100 amp service. 8,200 foot lot and 1150 foot house. Termites are not common here but there are noted cases of them.

There is some asbestos planking covering the outinsulation on the foundation wall, but not to much. Roof lines are level and crisp looking, rain gutters are sot saging and the soffits look good. the doors all seem to be closing freely but I will check to see if any have been planed or cut , this may indicate settling or just a cheep used door replacement due to damaged doors.


I can check with the city to see if it ever has been a drug grow operation house. very common in this area of Canada.

There is an attic so I will be up there looking at insulation, chimney for mortor and or soot build up, wasp nests etc.


Have I missed anything?

thanks for all ideas..

 

The guy who did mine gave me a whole checklist. I'll see if I can find it and either scan or type of the list. It was extremely comprehensive.

Water pressure with multiple taps on is one I can remember he did...

If you are interested send me an email as a reminder and I'll find it and scan it tomorrow for you.

 

Is the house on city services or well & septic?

If well & septic, what is the flow rate?
Also, not a bad idea to do a more comprehensive water test, not just the 0-0-0 free test which only tests for bacteria.

$100 or so will get you a really detailed water test from a local private lab which tests for over 100 things which might be of interest.

At least you'll know if you have to budget for any water treatment equipment which you never planned for. (RO Unit, Softener, UV light, sulpher remover)

When we bought our current house, I went knocking on the neighbors doors asking them if they ever went dry, how long they lived in the area, any complaints they had (if any).

You don't have a basement, so at least you don't have to look for possible flooding issues in the spring.

I always like it when you see a nice finished baement, wth a concrete painted floor, and the home owner says "we just never got around to finishing the floor". That's a nice big red flag waving in the wind.

Good luck!

 

hey vader, i would love a copy if you have one....i also have noticed in pa, that the seller has to have a disclosure list about the property....however, if it was just a turned property someone else just got and fixed up to resell, then the i don't knows have been popping up. we to are still looking at houses. harder then i thought! found a couple in real nice areas but the insides were way to much work for the price asked.

jim

 

The house is on city services and is on the crest of a very slight slope.
so I am not worried about ground water. House has always been heated by natural gass so no below ground oil tank for furnice oil.

 

Look for any ice dams on the eves, this will tell you how well insulated and vented the attic is.

If the roof is newer, find out the company that did it and if they carry a warranty.

Anywhere possible look for signs of mold, around windows and such.

If there are access panels to look at plumbing such as the tub or shower, open them up. Flush the toilet many times to see how it works. Open and shut every door and window many times to check for operation.

Anything and everything should be checked, not just structural things.
Not sure what you are paying or what you will be wanting to change or upgrade, but a lot of little problems can cost you a lot later down the road.

I am in construction also, I have done a few inspections for some buddies and have saved them some cash or gotten them a little better price.


Sled...