What are the top five home problems that inspectors find? Having this information - whether you are a homeowner, a seller, or a buyer - will help you understand what to look for and where to spend your maintenance dollars after moving in. These tips will also allow you to negotiate a better deal if you really like the home. Here are the top five.
Dirty furnace filter and lack of maintenance. While some homeowners have a checklist for maintenance, 80% do not. I find furnace filters that have not been changed in years, and dirt buildup in HVAC (heating, ventilation, and cooling) components. I find piles of construction debris still lying inside the air supply vents. What to do: have your HVAC systems serviced twice a year by a professional. You can check and change your own filters each month.
Outside grading. 70% of the homes I inspect do not have a steep enough slope, or grade, to lead water away from the home in a heavy rain. If you wonder why you have a damp basement or crawlspace - this is the reason. The first 10 feet out from your foundation should drop at least six inches. This may not be easy to do here in the mountains where we place our homes into the side of a hill. What to do: install a drainage ditch on the up slope to lead water away from your home.
Missing or damaged gutters. Closely aligned with the grading problem above, gutters that are not functioning properly will introduce moisture into walls, basements, and crawlspaces. Mildew and mold follow, causing damage to materials, and introducing contaminants into the air that you breathe. What to do: Inspect your gutters and downspouts at least twice a year and make repairs. Make sure you observe what is happening in a heavy rain - your gutters may not be sized correctly.
Missing smoke detectors. 65% of the homes I inspect either do not have any working smoke detectors, do not have enough smoke detectors, or the detectors are not in the right places. Over 5000 Americans died last year in residential fires. What to do: check your home now. How many detectors do you have? Are they working? You can push the "test" button on each unit to see if it's working. What to do: Have several alarms on each floor of your house, and make sure they are audibly linked. Put them in halls and in bedrooms. You can buy wireless linked alarms on Amazon.com or at your favorite hardware store.
Missing insulation. 50% of the homes we inspect have missing or worn door gaskets, missing insulation barriers over attic doors, missing under floor insulation in crawlspaces, and no insulation in attic spaces. A home that is not insulated will cost a lot more money to keep warm or cool. What to do: Take a look at these areas: attic, crawlspace, doors or hatches to the attic, and windows and doors. You can add insulation batts and gaskets yourself, or have a qualified contractor review and correct these areas.
If you are buying a home and your inspector discovers some or all of these issues, you should negotiate a lower price on the home, ask for seller repairs, or keep looking. If you are in love with the home, at least you will know what needs to be done when you move in.
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