Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Common Interests Home inspection questions.

My home inspection on the house I'm buying goes down Saturday, and the inspector told me to write down any questions I have. I know he will already address most of these, but I want a complete list anyways and would appreciate anything that you have to add. This is what I have so far:

-Electrical
-Plumbing (water flows properly, etc)
-Foundation
-Structure
-Siding put on top of original wood
-Furnace/AC
-Turning the Attic into Sq. Ft of the house
-Roof
-Driveway (asphalt)
-Water - is it going to leak into the basement?

Keep in mind this is a house built in 1942 so this is critical. I know about lead paint. Please give me any suggestions.

If it has hot water heat, look for asbestos insulation on the pipes. Its not dangerous unless it is exposed.

Thank You. I think the shingles are the asbestos kind which is cool as the roof is in great shape and I'm pretty sure those aspestos shingles will out live me. It does have a hot water heater which is newer and the pipes look newer as well. Also the circuit breaker is a newer one (not the old fuse kind) so I hope the wiring has been upgraded.

Anything else?

bkent,
Here is a nice HI site with hints:
http://www.inspectamerica.com/Get_Advice/First_Time_Buyer/first_time_buyer.html

Also, if the inspector finds any problems areas and then you decide to negotiate w/the RE agent or owners for repairs, try and get them to state exactly what will be done and what will be used as the replacement; i.e., my sis bought a home that needed anew roofing shingles. The sellers agreed to have the entire roof replaced, however the lowest grade shingles were used and hardly any flashing was replaced.
Good luck,
Al

Thanks for the good link.

The home is priced well below value to reflect needed repairs. As long as it's structurally sound and nothing major (i.e. too expensive) presents itself I am going to buy it, fix it up, and sell it in a few years (~5). It'll be a great starter house...