Ways To Perform Your Own Home Inspections

By Beryl Dalton


Taking time to carry out a house assessment is one of the most important things that you can do when buying a house. Defects that were not foreseen can end up costing you hundreds of dollars in repairs once you have moved in to the house. If you are the person who will be performing the home inspections, you have to focus on areas that are most likely to be in need of repairs.

A house assessment should always be divided into two categories. In the first group, you will be dealing with all aspects related to the exterior. In the second group, this is where you deal with the interiors.

Begin the exterior assessment by inspecting the chimney, the roof and the gutters. The chimney needs to be straight with no bricks or mortars missing. As for the gutters, what you need to do is make sure they are still firmly attached to the sides.

Examine the siding of this house. With a siding, you will need to pay attention to whether there are sections that are either missing or are discolored. All walls must be straight, with no bulging, or bowing being noted in anywhere. Where the exterior has been constructed out of bricks or stones, check for those that could be missing.

It is very important to make sure you examine the foundation of this house. When looking at a foundation, you will need to focus on any cracks that could be present, signs of shifting and whether flaking is happening. If there happens to be a chalky substance forming along the foundation, this could be an indication that there is leaking taking place.

Finish off the exterior assessment by taking a look at the house doors. Doors, especially exterior doors are often subject to damage by extreme weather elements. You will therefore need to make sure that you examine each door for any signs of weather stripping. Weather stripping is common at the bottom part of each door.

An interior assessment can begin by checking out the windows. Windows are tested by moving them up and down and also testing the locks that are in place. Caulking, placed along the windows should also be in good repair at all times.

Examine the flooring condition. For this, you must pay special attention to presence of cracks in the tiles, carpeting that has become worn out and also the presence of sloping. In some cases, sloping is caused by the normal setting of the floor. This however can also be brought about by a problem present in the foundation.

Ensure you also check the ceiling for any repair signs. Repair signs often come in the form of bulging in some sections. In addition to repair signs, check whether the roof is leaking by determining whether there are any visible water marks on this ceiling.

Complete your assessment by visiting the kitchen to confirm that everything is working as it should. Always take note of the appliances that are present in the kitchen and what their age is. It is possible to anticipate problems with an appliance by checking out the year it was manufactured and also checking for its service record.




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