Transaction Process
Home Inspection: What It Covers and What It Cannot
Whether inspectors must be licensed, what standards of practice govern the work, what the report must contain and how liability may be limited are all matters of state law and vary widely. Fees, timelines and typical repair costs are set by the market rather than by rule. Confirm your own state's regulation of inspectors, and treat published cost ranges as market data rather than as fixed figures.
An inspection is a snapshot. A trained generalist walks the property, operates what can be operated, looks at what can be seen without dismantling anything, and writes up the condition of the major systems on the day of the visit.
The limits are as important as the scope, and licensees who do not understand them create expectations the report was never going to meet. This page sets out both, along with the specialist work a general inspection routinely refers out.
What Kind of Examination This Is
Three words define the work: visual, non-invasive and generalist. The inspector reports what is observable without opening walls, moving stored belongings or disassembling equipment, and reports across every major system rather than to the depth a single trade would apply to its own specialty.
That is a deliberate design, not a shortcoming. A buyer under a contract deadline needs a fast survey that flags where money and risk are concentrated, then follows up with the relevant trade where the survey raises a concern. An invasive examination of every system would cost more than the transaction can carry and would damage a property the buyer does not yet own.
It is also not an appraisal, a code compliance review or a warranty. An appraisal estimates value for a lender. A code review measures against the rules in force when the work was permitted, which is a different question from whether a component functions today. And no report promises that a working system will keep working, because condition on the day of the visit is all anyone observed.
The Systems a General Inspection Surveys
Structure and envelope
Visible foundation and framing, walls and floors for evidence of movement, the roof covering and its drainage where it can be reached safely, plus grading and site drainage around the building. Items here carry the largest potential cost, which is why they lead most reports.
Mechanical systems
Heating and cooling equipment operated through a normal cycle, distribution and venting, and the water heating equipment with its safety fittings. The inspector notes apparent age and observed function, and refers out anything requiring a trade diagnosis.
Plumbing
Supply piping material where visible, functional flow and drainage at fixtures, visible waste lines, and evidence of past or active leakage. Buried and concealed piping is outside a visual survey, which is one reason sewer work is referred to a specialist.
Electrical
Service entrance and capacity, the panel and its overcurrent protection, visible branch wiring and its material, and the operation of protective devices at the locations where they are expected. Obsolete or hazardous wiring types are called out by name.
Interiors and openings
Windows and doors for operation and weather sealing, interior surfaces for staining, separation or signs of earlier repair, and permanently installed appliances where the standards of practice include them. Cosmetic condition is generally noted only when it points to something underneath.
Attached and unconditioned spaces
Attic insulation and ventilation, crawl spaces for moisture, decay and pest evidence, and an attached garage for door operation, ventilation and the required separation from living space. Access governs coverage: an area the inspector cannot safely enter is reported as not inspected.
Referred Out to Specialists
A general survey routinely ends in referrals. Each of these is ordered separately, on its own schedule, and has to fit inside the contract's investigation window.
Wood-destroying organisms. A separate examination for termites, other boring insects and decay, performed by an operator licensed for it in most states. Certain government-backed loan programs require this report as a condition of the loan, and some states regulate its form.
Radon. A naturally occurring radioactive soil gas the Environmental Protection Agency identifies as a serious indoor air hazard, measured by a placed test device over a set period rather than observed. The action threshold, the testing protocols and the mitigation approaches are all published by the EPA and by state health agencies.
Underground drainage lines. A camera run from the structure toward the municipal connection, which is the only way to see blockage, separation or root intrusion in buried pipe. Most relevant on older properties and on lots with mature trees, and the repairs it uncovers are among the more expensive a buyer can meet.
Moisture and microbial growth. Where staining, odor or a known water event suggests a problem, an assessment with sampling goes beyond what a visual survey can support.
Structural engineering. When the survey finds movement, deflection or repaired cracking, only a licensed engineer can say what is causing it and what correcting it requires.
Site-specific hazards. Wells and septic systems, storage tanks, shoreline or slope conditions, and materials common to certain construction eras each have their own qualified evaluators and their own state rules.
Reading the Report Without Misreading It
Every report on every property lists findings. New construction lists findings. Volume is not the signal, and a buyer who counts pages has learned nothing. The useful sort is by three questions: does this affect safety, does this threaten the structure or a major system, and is this ordinary maintenance that any owner would expect.
Safety and major-system items are what the negotiation is about. Deferred maintenance is usually priced into the market already and rarely moves a seller. Cosmetic observations almost never should. Conflating the three is the fastest way to turn a workable transaction into a failed one.
Watch for what the report says it did not cover. Areas recorded as inaccessible, systems that were not operated because of the season, and equipment shut off at the time are all gaps, and a gap over a major system is a reason to go back before the window closes rather than a reason to relax.
The report belongs to whoever paid for it, and the inspector's duty runs to that client. A buyer's report is not the seller's to distribute, and a licensee forwarding one without permission is creating problems. A seller who learns of a material defect through any route, though, has whatever disclosure duty state law imposes, and that duty does not turn on who ordered the work.
Where Licensees Get Into Trouble
This topic generates complaints more often than most. The pattern is consistent, and so is the fix.
Interpreting findings. Explaining what a defect will cost, how urgent it is or whether it is worth fixing is the work of the relevant trade. The licensee's job is to see that the right professional is asked.
Steering the choice of inspector. Offering a list from which the client chooses is ordinary practice; guaranteeing an inspector's work, or steering toward one known for short reports, is not. Any compensation flowing from a referral has to be disclosed under applicable law.
Discouraging the inspection. Suggesting a buyer skip it to make an offer competitive, or characterizing a property as too new or too well kept to need one, is advice a licensee should never give.
Failing to recommend it in writing. Many forms include the recommendation for exactly this reason. Where yours does not, the recommendation and the client's decision belong in the file.
Letting the calendar drift. Specialist availability and a sequence of referrals eat a short investigation window quickly. Scheduling the general inspection early is the single most effective protection a licensee can provide.
Attending without adding risk. Attendance is valuable for both the buyer and the agent, because questions get answered on the spot. Commentary during the walkthrough is where the value turns into exposure.
Inspection Questions on the Exam and in Practice
Who pays, and when?
The party who orders the work pays the inspector directly, and in a purchase that is ordinarily the buyer, out of pocket rather than at closing. Local custom and the contract can shift it, and sellers who commission a pre-listing inspection pay for their own.
Can a property fail an inspection?
There is nothing to fail. The report describes condition; it does not issue a verdict. Whether the findings are acceptable is the buyer's decision, made against the contract, and the language of passing belongs to code enforcement and lender-required repairs rather than to this document.
Should the buyer be there?
Yes, whenever it can be arranged. An hour walking the property with the inspector teaches a buyer more about the systems than the written report will, and questions get answered while the equipment is open. When the buyer cannot attend, sending the agent and scheduling a review call is the next best arrangement.
Which findings are the serious ones?
Anything affecting structure or the ground it sits on, active water entering the building, wiring types recognized as hazardous, combustion or venting defects, equipment at the end of its service life, and any confirmed environmental hazard. These share two traits: they need a specialist to scope, and they are expensive to correct.
Is an inspection worth ordering on new construction?
Yes. Passing a municipal inspection means the work met the reviewer's check at that stage, not that nothing was missed, and workmanship defects in new homes are common enough that buyers regularly order both a pre-drywall review and a final one. Builder warranty deadlines give the report a second use later.
How long is the report good for?
It describes the property on the day of the visit and nothing after. A report from an earlier transaction is useful background and is not a substitute for a current examination, because systems age and conditions change between contracts.