Interpreting the Inspection Report

• Read the entire report. Unfortunately, many people will not sit down and read the entire inspection report. This is a shame because the report is a snapshot in time of the home inspection and the inspection is what people paid for. The report will not only describe deficiencies and recommendations for repair, but it will also identify aging components and systems that you should budget for in the future.

• The Overview Report: the overview report only identifies items, components, and systems that need corrective action. The overview report may contain major and/or minor deficiencies. It is very important to follow through with the inspectors recommendations. The overview report can be extremely convenient if asking the seller to make repairs.

• It is your responsibility to follow through with the inspector’s recommendations. Your home inspector is looking out for your best interest. He has inspected your new home to the best of his ability given the conditions he had to work in. He makes no guarantee that he has discovered every little minor nuance with the home, yet he has discovered the readily accessible and visual discrepancies of the home. He has documented the defects and has made recommendations. He does not do repairs nor does he contact contractors to see that his recommendations are carried out. That is up to you! You should ensure that only licensed and qualified contractors perform the repairs. You should ask for warranties (if applicable) and receipts as well.