What is Included in your Home Inspection Report
/You know you need a home inspection because you were unable to walk the roof, investigate the mechanical systems, and explore the crawlspace during your showing. But what will your inspector and the accompanied report provide you? After professionally inspecting the roof, exterior, structure, electrical, heating, cooling, insulation/ventilation, plumbing, and interior, probably a lot more than you originally thought.
First of all, everyone knows your inspection report will provide you important information on defects discovered at the time of the inspection. What really matters in this ‘Observations and Recommendations’ section are concerns that fall into four major categories:
Major Defects- Very costly defects that need immediate repairs or could impact the price of the home.
Things that lead to major defects- Catching weakened areas of the home before they become big problems. A good example of this is a small leak in the roof flashing. If not caught early, overtime you could experience major water damage.
Items that could hinder your ability to finance, insure, or occupy the home- Think of this like a checklist for the items you need in every home transaction. For example, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
Safety Hazards- Because SiteLogic Home Inspections is great at identifying issues that could harm you or your family before it happens.
Anything reported in these four categories should be addressed immediately and contrary to popular belief they are not all expensive repairs and upgrades. The rest of the material noted in this section will cover maintenance recommendations for the new home owner and minor imperfections that you can chip away at to keep your home in tip-top shape.
Often overlooked is the inventory benefit of the inspection report which provides you with all the components and makeup of your new home in the ‘Description’ section. This is important reference material so you can easily find your main water, gas, and electrical shutoffs if needed and also can be a useful starting point for future upgrades and repairs.
For example, if you need to replace a section of siding on your house in the future and are unaware of the type of siding you need to match the rest of the house, pull out your inspection report to find what you need. Or, let’s say you want to add new kitchen appliances and you need to know if your current electrical service size can handle the new load. Reference the electrical section of your report to determine if your current panel has room for additions without overloading. Also use the description section to see the age of your major mechanical systems. If they are already near or past their life expectancy, this will be mentioned in ‘Observations and Recommendations’ to budget or replace, but if not it is always good to know how old your systems are for future planning.
But what good is all this information in written format? Not a ton. SiteLogic Home Inspections takes hundreds of photos during the inspection to include in your report. This way you can see for yourself what we found on top of or underneath your new home.
No home is perfect, so avoid killing your deal by keeping your inspection objections in perspective. Home ownership comes with regular maintenance so try not to focus on items that don’t really matter.
About SiteLogic
SiteLogic Home Inspections is a local and family owned business in Fort Collins, Colorado. Our inspections and reports are designed to be one of the most helpful steps in your home buying process. Owner and Lead Inspector Joe Anderson is dedicated to making sure you understand the strengths and weaknesses of your home, and is available to answer any questions you have even long after your inspection is complete.
SiteLogic is a Certified Professional Inspection company. We are InterNACHI certified, so you can trust that our inspectors are among the most highly trained in the industry. Our professionally trained home inspectors use modern technology, tools, and techniques to identify deficiencies and effectively communicate what exactly it means to the current condition of your home. Visit SiteLogicInspections.com to learn more.