A home inspection checklist form is a-must for home inspectors. The checklist will guide them through the whole inspection process. It will also help them check all the details that need to be checked inside a house.
What should your home inspection checklist form contain?
- Property information – this part includes all the details regarding the property, address, type, sale price, style, age, total square foot and orientation.
- Neighborhood information – this will include the average family income, average home prices, services available in the neighborhood, its distance from establishments like public schools, business district, shopping centers, and so on, its proximity to hazards/nuisances and the utilities around the neighborhood.
- Rooms and sizes – in this part, a building inspector should take note of every room as well as the size of each room. Other structures must be put into detail as well.
- General structural info – in this part, it should include the foundation type, wall framing and roof type.
- Exterior components – this includes the roof covering, age and condition of the roof covering, gutterns and downspouts, type of exterior, condition of exterior surfaces, window types, window frames, condition of the windows, decks/patios, condition of decks/patios, type of driveway/sidewalks and condition of driveway/sidewalks.
- Heating and Air Conditioning – this includes the type of furnace, type of fuel, age and condition of the furnace, air conditioner present, age and condition of the A/C and fireplaces.
- Plumbing – includes type of main water line, type of water piping, type of waste lines, condition of plumbing lines, water heater capacity, type of fuel, age and condition of the water heater.
- Electrical – this part includes the main service capacity, service panel type and condition of wiring.
- Interior and Finishes – this includes the material of wall and ceiling, condition of walls/ceilings, floor finishes, conditon of windows/doors, condition of floor finishes.
- Appliances – each appliace in the home should be inspected carefully by a home inspector.
- Energy insulation – this includes the thickness of the wall insulation, type of wall insulation, attic insulation thickness, attic insulation type, R values and energy upgrades made to the house.
- Garage – a home inspector should check if the overhead door is large enough for vehicles. Does it come with automatic opener? Safety auto-reverse operational? The length of the garage. Can the doors be locked? Electrical supplied to garage, condition of electrical in the garage and overall condition of the garage.
As you can see, a home inspection checklist form contains a lot of things that a home inspector should check. These are very important, and that is why a home inspection usually takes 3-4 hours, sometimes even more depending on the type of the home and how big it is.
Aside from that, this is also the reason why home inspection cost can go up. It is not expensive at all. As you can see, the cost is very reasonable.