Practical guidance on the home inspection process, what to expect, and how to use your report.
Masonry chimneys are near and dear to my heart, and also something of a scourge to my existence as a home inspector. I’ll explain both sides of that in a minute, but first, a little context on why New England…
Every house comes with a list. Things that could be repaired, replaced, painted, sealed, serviced, or upgraded. Nobody has unlimited time or money to work through it, so the real question isn’t whether something eventually needs attention. It’s whether it…
Most of what I’ve written on this site is about what I can do — how my building background shows up in an inspection, the things I catch that get missed, why the years I’ve spent running job sites give…
This is a question I’ve heard plenty of times. Without knowing how a home inspector “grades” a house, it’s pretty easy to imagine the inspection as some kind of test — the house either passes or fails, and everybody waits…
Somewhere along the way, the real estate and home inspection industry decided every home purchase needed the same warning label: “This is the biggest financial decision of your life.” I understand the impulse. It sounds serious. It sounds like someone…
You just got your home inspection report and your first question is the same one almost every buyer asks: “Okay, but what’s this going to cost me to fix?” That’s a completely reasonable question. You’re making a huge financial decision,…
You’ve probably seen the lists. “Top 10 home inspection red flags!” Foundation cracks, old wiring, water stains — fine, sure, those matter. But here’s what most of those lists won’t tell you: whether a crack is a problem or just…
Most people don’t think about getting a home inspection unless they’re buying or selling a house. That makes sense — that’s when someone tells you to do it, hands you a number, and you show up and sign things. But…
Most buyers assume the inspection report is a simple pass/fail — a list of things broken or not broken. That’s not quite how it works, and understanding the difference matters when you’re deciding whether to move forward on a property.…
