Rooms Inspection

It is very important to look for water stains across all the ceilings of the home.

Water stain on the ceiling

Always check for ceiling / supporting.

Water stains on the exterior wall ceiling

Water stains on the ceiling, always check below bathroom and kitchens or where there is running water.

Water stain on the ceiling.

Water stain on a ceiling, if a stain is on the main floor what is directly above? In a two story home this will generally tell you where the problem is coming from.

Water stain on a on a exterior wall, this is generally caused from ice backup in the winter.

Water stain on a ceiling, most times in a one story home the water had come from a chimney flashing leak,or a roof vent leak, or a roof valley leak.

Most interior wall cracks are normal settling cracks like this one

Water stain on the ceiling exterior wall.

Water stains on ceilings.(Possible FHA Concern)

Ceiling drywall sagging, it is very difficult to show a photo of this problem. Every home you look at you should look close at the ceiling to make sure the drywall is not sagging, this is very common for homes that were built in the late 70’s & 80’s.

Always check around the ceilings of fireplaces as you can see in this one the drywall has been repaired because of a flashing leak on the roof. Make sure you look very close at the flashing around the chimney and the sheathing in the attic around the chimney for wood rot.

Water stains were found around the chimney this is generally caused because of a flashing leak around the chimney.

Always check for water stains directly under windows.

This is signs of Termites in a 2 year old home, so when you think your new home doesn’t need a termite inspection you could be seriously wrong. Very difficult to view this.(Newer Home)

When you see this much chipping paint with no water stains it generally means that the ceiling was painted without putting primer on first. (Possible FHA Concern)

The drywall tape is bubbling up where the ceiling and the wall come together. This generally happens because of a chimney flashing leak. 

It is very important to check the floors near every sliding door, you can do this stepping next to the door frame and pressing to see if there is any wood rot.  This should be done along the entire interior of the door.  If you do find a soft area you should then re-visit the basement area below looking for any water stains on drywall or damaged rotted wood.

Even if the exterior door is up against tile or wood you should still always put pressure on the floor by stepping on it along the entire interior to check for damaged areas

These interior wood floors are warped and the boards are separating, this is normally caused from a water leak and is normally found on a exterior wall.  If you see this make sure you look down below in the basement or crawl space area for further damaged areas. (Newer Home)

This floor has signs of serious bowing, if you go down to the basement and spend some time looking at the structure you will find the problem.This home has two floor joist that were cracked and a main supporting beam that has twistedoff to one side by approx. 1/2″. Serious Problem.

Always look very close in all the exterior corners of the home for water stains.

Do your best to look behind all beds and furniture, especially the ones on the exterior walls.

The floor around the front door has evidence of a serious water leak.  If carpeting was installed you would never notice this, that is why it is so important to step next to all exterior door to feel for wood rot and always look below every entry for water stains. (Possible FHA Concern)

Water stains were found at the base of this entry door their is a good chance the door is leaking water, we recommend to hire a licensed contractor to repair the door. (Newer Home)

This wood floor is has warped more than normal near the sliding door, we recommend having a licensed contractor come in and check the door for water leaks. (Newer Home)

This photo indicates a 9 x 9 tiles which is generally known as a tile made of Asbestos.  We or anybody else would say asbestos is bad, but as long as it is not broken up and it stays secured tothe basement floor it will be ok.

This asbestos floor is all broken up due to past water leaks, we recommend to have this area of the floor properly cleaned to eliminate the chance of asbestos becoming air born. (Possible Safety Hazard)

This is another photo of a new home and we found water stains in the daylight basement area.  Even if the home is new it is important to have it professionally inspected.

When ever you see a drop down ceiling in the home you are looking at buying it is very important to move the panel to the side and see if the light fixture is wired properly and is using junction boxes to safely to store the wires. This is common to find in homes with basements.

These electrical wires need to be placed into the light fixture electrical box for safety.

Missing light fixture globe.

Whenever you see a extension corn plugged into a light fixture in the basement do your best to track down where the wire is running to. (See photo below left)

This extension cord is running the main floor of the home where it is wired to a light fixture in a closet.  (Safety Hazard Very Dangerous)

We recommend that all basement light fixtures are properly installed for Safety.

Always look at the top and bottom of every window to look for water stains, sometimes the bottoms will be cleaned but the tops will still have water stains on them. (Newer Home)

If you look close at this window you will see it is foggy, this would indicate that this window has a broken thermal seal. These can cost as low as $100.00 per window to repair or you may have to replace the window

This sliding door has a broken thermal seal.

This window has had serious leaks, even if the windows look good and you see curtains are around the windows, gently move the curtains and inspect the windows and the walls, you never know what you will find.

This is a photo of a window frame that is rotted at the bottom corner of the window. Opening and closing every window is very important, if you see a water stain push your finger on it and see if it is only a stain or if itis wood rot.

Always check the base of the basement windows for water stains.

Always look close at the windows, this one has chipping paint, this can be from different things.The humidifier being turned up to high, the window is leaking water or the current owner just leaves there window open a lot.  Also open and close every window in the home, while opening them look at the top and bottom of the frames. Occasionally you will find the frames are rotted this generally happens at the bottom of the window.

Look very close for water stains under every window in the home

Check every window to make sure locks are installed and operational for safety

It is very common to find water leaks coming from sky lights and sky lights that have broken thermal seals. (Broken thermal seal is when the window if foggy)

It is very important to open every window in the home because you don’t know when you will open a window and it will be rotted like this one.

Cracked glass.(Possible FHA Concern)

Check every interior door in the home to make sureit will open and close, it is common in older homesto find doors that stick a little.  This door would notclose at all, it was very tight at the top of the door.

This door lock has been installed with thekey lock on the interior which is a safetyhazard

This door is missing its strike plate, minor concern, just something a little more to look for.

Always check to make sure doorsa properly sealed.

Always check door locks on exterior and garage doors to make sure they are installed properly and are operating.Safety Hazard.

Always look at the base of every sliding door in the inside of a home for wood rot.  Also make sure you step on the floor near the doors to check for wood rot.

Every home that needs a railing or a railing with spindles that should be properly secured for safety.

Always check for loose or broken railing spindles.

Missing railing, safety hazard. (Possible FHA Concern)

Very common to find loose railings.

Recommend always check post of railing system to see if they are loose, this is a very common area to find them loose.

This home is only 2 years old but it is still very important to inspect every spindle in the railing system, we found two that were cracked and glued back together.(Newer Home)