I'm here with Eric Egelstad from Home Scan Inspections. He is actually doing an
inspection of one of my own investment homes. Let's ask Eric what he looks for in an inspection .
We're looking for major and minor issues with the house that are not cosmetic,
that we can inform the client on, so they can make a wise decision on their investment. When we walk
into a house we turn all the components on in the house. All electrical outlets get tested, every
window that can be opened and closed, we check those. We run all the water in the bathrooms, the
laundry room, the sinks, exterior hose bibs and we're looking for deficiencies as we do those.
We check the components in the kitchen, we climb on the roof and check out the roof issues,
make sure it's structurally sound from the attic and also looking for moisture intrusion
and stuff like that. So basically from the top down we inspect everything we get our hands on.
What issues do you see on an inspection report that are not that big of a deal
but freak buyers out? Good question. A lot of times, starting from the roof, we see a
lot of exposed nail heads. I see them on new construction houses to older homes
and then some lifted shingles. Maybe some minor hail damaged shingles. Those are typical general
homeowner maintenance items, we call it. A roofing company can come in or
a handyman that's qualified and they can do a what they call a maintenance program
or a package deal and caulk and seal everything just tidy everything up from the roof.
Usually the number one thing for me in a house inspection is moisture. Water can cause a lot
of issues. The simple things by cleaning your gutters for instance. When the gutters
get clogged up it adjusts the slope of the gutter and now we have water intrusion that backs
up into the attic into the roof decking. Simple things, keep your gutters clean, making
the downspouts clean and then getting the water away from the foundation. Keeping the water flow
from the foundation away. We don't want water to slope towards the foundation. That's when
we start getting water intrusion in basements crawl spaces and stuff like that. We see
some flooring that gets scuffed up here and there, which is typically not putting a home inspection
that a lot of people are concerned about. It's just normal wear and tear. Same thing with the
exterior siding. We tell people any wood trim, keep it painted. That's the best thing to defend
from wood rot and stuff like that. Typically unless the water's coming in from the wood trim,
that's something we need to really just keep an eye on and monitor and address as needed. A lot of
people see a lot of wood rot here and they freak out. As long as the water's not coming in, we're
good to go. And then condensation in the windows is another typically thing we see a lot in this area.
Typically, the r-value is not diminished that much there's not much r-value or insulation value
in a window, a double pane window. Usually it's more aesthetically unpleasing than anything else.
What are the major, major issues that could absolutely kill a deal if you saw it? If you saw it
on an inspection report, you would not buy the house. Sure. Again, we're going back to water.
Mold. Water creates a lot of issues, from wood rot to wood damage to mold. Depending on the
client, their budget, which is something I don't get into. You know we just like to point out the
deficiencies and then obviously we'll probably get a mold specialist or a water restoration company
to come in to deal with that, to figure out how much damage there is. Because the bad thing
about mold or water intrusion is, there's areas we can't see behind. Like walls. So we don't know if
the water is spread behind walls and created a bigger issue, which is also a health issue.
Depending on the clients, that could be a huge reason for them to walk away. Everything's fixable.
Foundation cracks or subfloor damages in the crawl space is another big thing. I have a crawl
space, I typically don't get in my own crawl space. You have a moisture leak, sometimes it spreads it
ruins floor joists, support beams. It can cause a lot of damage and it could be a costly repair that
could turn into an insurance claim. I see that a lot in crawl spaces,
and typically it's the grading coming towards the house again. Or an appliance or a bathroom leaking
in the crawl space and nobody checks it. So usually, those are the two biggest ones you know.
A roof could be that way too, depending on the type of shingles and the life expectancy,
the damages on it. But most roofing companies can patch and repair. They probably just won't
warranty their work if the roof is worn. Because now they're putting their new
shingles on an old shingle. And then polybutylene piping is another one that usually scares people.
I just like to inform people of it and then obviously we need to get a qualified plumber
to further evaluate to determine if they need to be replaced or at least give the homeowner a price.
So they know where they're at if it does fail. In Georgia, home inspections take place during the due
diligence period, so be sure to watch this video next. It's all about that. And give this video a
thumbs up and subscribe to this channel. New videos come out every Monday, so I'll see you next week!