Home inspections are almost always a nerve-wracking time. Whether you’re the homeowner crossing your fingers that you can finally sell the home or the home buyer who hopes it’s not too good to be true, home inspections can be exhausting. In fact, home inspections are exhaustive, with a basic home inspection like our own covering over 10 major categories and hundreds of points of failure in a home. We’ve seen it all from the mundane to the bizarre to the criminal. Here are the five most common issues that crop up in a home inspection.
1. Mold and Mildew Problems
Regardless of the age of your home or the materials found in it, mold and mildew can be a problem. These spores only need one thing to grow: water. Anywhere water is leaking, pooling, or condensing, mold and mildew can grow. As such, these problems are often secondary to another problem, be it leaking pipes, weeping basements, or poorly ventilated attics. Check out our blog, What to Do If Your Home Inspector Finds Mold, for more info.
2. Damp Crawlspaces and Basements
Crawlspaces and basements, especially unfinished ones, can easily become a nightmare for a home inspection. If your basement or crawlspace has damp walls, mildew, or pooling water, this can be a sign of anything from cracks in the foundation that are letting in water, to blocked drains or leaking pipes.
3. Roof and Chimney Condition
The roof is another weak point in many homes. There are three major elements: the roofing, the roof structure, and flashing. For the roofing: missing or degraded shingles which are allowing water to get in.
- Structure: Wet or rotting roof elements or bowing of the roof.
- Flashing: Degraded seals around the chimney, vents, or any skylights.
- Chimney: Older chimneys can often have issues with the brick or mortar.
4. Plumbing and Piping Woes
As should be clear from the first two issues, leaking pipes and other plumbing issues that produce standing water can cause a lot of issues. Besides mold and mildew, water damage and rot are common. Leaking fixtures are small problems to fix, but if you’ve got an issue with your septic tank or field, that’s another matter.
5. Poor Electrical Systems
The electrical systems of homes, especially older homes, aren’t always up to the needs of the house as well as being up to code. During the inspection, appliances and wiring will be tested, including systems like ground fault interrupters (GFIs) that are common in bathrooms or kitchens. Old wiring, or just sloppy wiring by contractors, is a common issue with homes when it comes to electrical safety.
The Homeinex Corporation has been providing prompt and in-depth inspection in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire for over twenty-five years. If you have any questions about home inspections – from what they can find, to how much they cost – contact us today. We’ll help answer any questions you have and provide next day service on most home inspections.