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Buyers'
Guidebook
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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 weatherstripping
- 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
insulationWater 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
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Reprinted
from REALTOR® Magazine Online
by permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®Copyright
2005. All rights reserved.
www.REALTOR.org/realtormag |
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