Most home inspection reports categorize defects as something like Repairs, Maintenance, Safety, or Monitor. While these categories can be helpful most inspectors will also report on many items throughout the house making it quite daunting to review the report and know what is important versus what is a less critical issue. Not every repair or defect needs to be addressed, and if a buyer gives every defect noted the same weight or level of concern they may find themselves becoming overwhelmed with the prospect of moving forward. So what issues or defects should cause a home buyer to pause and consider when making their purchase? I tell my buyers to consider some unofficial categories when reviewing the report and put the defects into those to help them determine what to consider as needing attention and set the remaining issues on the back burner. So what are these unofficial categories? Let’s call them; Unexpected Expensive, Quality of Daily Living, and An Ounce of Prevention.
Unexpected Expensive: These are items that the buyer had no idea about when they made their offer to purchase and now discover that something needs to be done that’s going to cost a lot of money. Not every home inspection will have these, but it is the primary reason to have a home inspection. These are often structural issues like failing foundations, major roof leaks, and habitability issues. They can also be environmental concerns that were not uncovered until the inspection such as excessive mold, radon, or chemical leaks. When things like this are uncovered they can change the value of the house and are a reason to pause and consider the cost of repair and return on investment.
Quality of Daily Living: These are items that may not be critical to repair but will affect you daily as you live in the home. These can be items that require repair like outlets you plan to use that don’t deliver power, or appliances that don’t function. Sometimes these are features that the house doesn't have that the buyer was expecting, like 200 AMP service or no heat in the room that was going to be the nursery. In most cases these are not reasons to walk away if the buyer loves the house, but no one wants to move in and then be unhappy with the way their house works. These defects are important to consider when reviewing the report. Along with convenience issues, any personal safety concerns would also be in this category.
An Ounce of Prevention: The last unofficial category I recommend having is for defects that will cause more damage if not fixed. Sometimes these can be pennies to fix, but if closing is still months away failing to fix them could mean bigger repairs after purchase. These are things like plumbing leaks, overheated electric wires, missing caulk allowing water into the home or electric panel, small roof leaks not yet visible outside the attic, and loose flooring or siding. Another example would be a broken thermostat. If the inspection is in late October and closing is in January, a $10 thermostat could prevent thousands in damage from burst pipes if the house is vacant.
Every buyer will have different items that fall into these unofficial categories as they review the inspection. Items that don’t fall in the categories above most likely are items that are not critical to a buyer's purchase concerns. Often these are the items that have been present for years and through many owners. By focusing on what's going to cost you money, affect your daily life, or damage your home you can easily narrow down any inspection report to what is truly important.
