Did you know that 44% of Americans have regrets about the house they bought or the home buying process they went through?
To make sure home buying or selling goes without a hitch and all parties involved are satisfied with the transaction, there are home inspection checklists.
Read on to learn how something as simple as eForm can help you hand over or receive the keys to your home worry-free!
Table of Contents
What Is a Home Inspection Checklist?
The home inspection checklist is a document that helps both the buyers and the sellers move property easier.
They can help sellers inspect the property, measure the comps, and identify the key selling points.
They also help buyers assess the condition of the property during the initial walk-through.
Home inspection checklists can be paper-based and electronic. In this article, we will be focusing on the latter.
eForms help sellers evaluate the condition of their property and environment for more accurate pricing and marketing. They also help buyers record their impressions and notes to use in the home evaluation as well as the negotiation process.
Property inspection report outlines house properties that require immediate attention, maintenance or major repairs and offers a thorough overview of upgrade planning and repair prioritization.
Why Use an Electronic Property Inspection Checklist?
eForm home inspection checklists are a convenient tool to inspect and record the condition of both the structural and decorative components of a property.
Evaluating these items helps the buyers get an insight into the state of the house and its true value.
They also prepare the buyers to ask the homeowner or seller the right questions during walk-throughs and negotiation.
Electronic property inspection documents create, store, and edit checklists on mobile devices while avoiding the paperwork that can get lost or damaged.
Other benefits of using builders inspection checklists are:
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- They give away warning signs: Major safety concerns, potential threats, and defects are the subjects of home inspection checklists that assess them. They point to issues that need dealing with and help buyers make an informed decision about whether or not to purchase a property.
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- Buyers can save money: After documenting issues in the checklists, buyers can assess the amount of repair needed and save money by asking sellers to conduct the repairs. Defects like poor structural design, safety hazards or nonfunctional appliances can incur additional costs to buyers. Checklists document these issues and save buyers’ expenses.
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- Sellers can fix issues in advance to pass inspections: By using home inspection checklists for sellers, homeowners can detect issues that may have gone “under the radar” and address them to ensure their homes are in the condition to pass the inspection.
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- Buyers may reduce the price of the house: Once the inspection checklist is filled and the inspector evaluates it for the report, buyers can establish whether there are major issues with the house. In case there are, they can negotiate a much lower price on account of defects detected.
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- Homebuyers may plan ahead and feel satisfied with their purchase: House inspection checklists can reveal the lifespan expectancy for certain house elements allowing buyers to plan for future upgrades. The ways in which these documents assist the property assessment process make buyers confident and satisfied with the purchase, eliminating the buyer’s remorse. Buying a house is a grand step and high-quality evaluation through inspection checklists gives buyers peace of mind.
House inspection checklists facilitate the inspection process during the pre-buy walkthrough
Home Inspection Checklist For Buyers & Home Inspection Checklist For Sellers: What is The Difference?
The home inspection checklist for buyers contains the categorized list of all the house elements and its potential shortcomings and malfunctions.
We will look into the typical checklist items and questions more closely later in this article.
Home inspection checklists for sellers approach the house inventory list from the seller’s angle and provide fast and easy access to everything on the home inspection checklist to potential buyers.
Checklists for sellers are different from buyers’ because neither sellers nor buyers will instinctively trust the other side’s inspector. By comparing checklists, they can reach a consensus.
Sellers and buyers also have different priorities.
The seller may include items such as the necessary repairs that may come up during the walk-through.
A buyer’s checklist may even bring up things that may not even exist, or are the property of the condo association and not the seller, such as the attic, crawl spaces or a yard area.
All of these points help buyers make an informed decision and help both parties negotiate a deal that is in everyone’s interest.
Sellers House Inspection Checklist
Home inspection checklist for sellers differs from the buyer’s in that it contains these items and reminders:
- Leave keys and label them where inspector and buyers can find them
- Leave pilot lights on so inspector can demonstrate the appliances to potential buyers
- Tidy the path to the basement and water heater/HVAC unit/furnace and make it unobtrusive so that inspector can visit it
- Tidy the attic and path to appliances there
- Keep key areas of the yard clean so that the party of buyers and the inspector can look at drainage access points, crawl space and septic tank
- Reconnect utilities if the home is vacant
- Make the curb appealing for the buyers’ optimal first impression when they come to view the property
- Clean gutters of debris and make sure the downspouts are working properly
- Remove moss that has grown on the brick or side of the house
- Check the condition of the roof for missing or curled shingles
- Check the proper ventilation of carbon monoxide in the water heater, for gas leaks in case it is a gas water heater and for water leaks
- Confirm the good condition of heating and cooling system and their operating controls
- Check if all doors don’t squeak and that they all close and latch properly
- Make sure fire detectors and other hazard alarms are in working conditions and audible and have new batteries.
Also Read: Professional House Cleaning Checklist
What Categories And Items Should a Buyers’ House Inspection Checklist Contain?
A house buyer should be able to identify and evaluate the most important components of the house on their own, even though they may be viewing the house with a professional inspector.
Knowing as much as possible about the inspection process and inspection checklist makes property evaluation more efficient and precise.
Below are the essential categories of house elements that should be a part of any inspection checklist eForm.
- House foundation
- Structural integrity
- Property exterior
- Home interior
- Plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning
- Electrical system
52 Must-Have Questions To Include In Your Buyers’ Property Inspection Checklist
The above six categories that inform a thorough home inspection checklist are the basis for the questions that each category should have.
Below is the definitive list of 52 questions for each category to reference during the home inspection and include in the inspection checklist.
Foundation And Structure
- Is the foundation of the house in good condition?
- Does the base of the walls show cracks or shifts in the foundation?
- Are any trees encroaching on the foundation?
- Is there anything that hints at standing water?
- Does the septic tank has any leaks?
- Is the drainage system taking the water away from the house?
- Are there any soggy areas in the landscaping?
Exterior
- Is there any rotted wood or damage caused by termites?
- Does the stucco have any large cracks?
- What is the condition of windows and door frames?
- Is exterior paint faded, stained or peeled?
- What is the condition of the roof?
- Was the roof recently replaced?
- Does the roof have patching?
- What is the condition of the chimney?
- What is the state of siding, is it decayed, cracked or loose?
- Do gutters drain the water properly?
- Are there any dangling wires?
- Is there asbestos in the exterior material?
- Does the exterior of the house look like it may need repairing or repainting in the future?
Interior
- What does the interior smell like, are there any unpleasant smells?
- What appliances are included in the purchase of the house, if any?
- What is insulation like?
- Do electrical outlets and switches operate properly?
- Are the electrical outlets grounded?
- Are there enough electrical outlets in all the rooms?
- Is there any damage or stains on walls, ceilings and floors?
- Is the basement damp?
- What is the condition of the flooring and will it need replacing?
- Do doors and windows open and close properly?
- Is there leakage around sinks?
- Check the water pressure – is it adequate?
- What is the ventilation throughout the home like?
- What is the ventilation and insulation like in the attic?
- How does the interior of the roof structure look?
- Are toilets functioning properly?
- Are there any smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and can you spot them easily?
- Are there any stains on the underside of the roofing that suggest leakages?
Plumbing, Heating, Ventilation And Air Conditioning
- What is the condition of the pipes, are they rusted or damaged?
- Is there any pipes leakage?
- Is the water pump working properly?
- Is there any noise coming from the plumbing system?
- Do pipes restrict water flow?
- Does every room in the house get adequate air flow?
- Is the cooling system rusty?
- Can you smell gas?
- Do air filters in the cooling unit need replacing?
- Did heating pipes, water pipes and air ducts have asbestos on them?
Electrical System
- Are cables protected and secured?
- Are any splices exposed?
- Can you find the service panel?
- Do fuses or breakers overheat?
Property inspection checklists ensure house byers are certain about the quality of their purchase
How To Build A Professional Home Inspection Checklist With doForms
Whether you are a buyer, seller, or a builder, doForms makes home inspection checklists simple to make and use.
Thanks to our mobile forms’ DIY approach, you can choose from several pre-made house inspection templates, modify them or build them from scratch using over 30 drag-and-drop features.
These allow you to capture data on site, take in-form photos, make instant calculations, generate reports, upload and sync them to your cloud, and more.
Best of all: It does not require an internet connection.
Takeaways On Home Inspection Checklist
The foundation of a quality house inspection checklist that ensures an immaculate home inspection process consists of:
- A natural flow and good organization of checklist items
- Clear and to-the-point language
- Detailed description of the property’s elements
- Images of house’s elements
- A summary section
The benefits of using an electronic form house inspection checklist are:
- Reduces paperwork and potential loss of data due to damaged or lost documents
- Homebuyers get an honest and detailed insight into the true state of the property
- Adherence to legal protection standards
- A high level of selling or buying process
- Buyers get warning signs in advance and avoid bad purchase
- Sellers can fix issues in advance to ensure good inspection rating
- Homebuyers may plan ahead and feel confident about their purchase
