Free Costa Mesa Home Inspection Tips

Here are inspection tips on Seven areas you need to pay special attention to when performing a home inspection.

 1.   Structural Problems:

• If the house has siding, look for sections of the siding that appear irregular, as if they may have shifted suddenly in a different direction.

• If the house has concrete block (or stucco over block) or it has a brick veneer, look for cracks that appear wider at the top than at the bottom.

2.  Roof Problems:

Verify the age of the roofing material. If it is over 10 years old then check it closely. Check all the flashing at piping and chimneys. By all means check the attic for signs of water intrusion.

3.  Heating and Air Conditioning Systems:

• Look out for the old fuel fired heating systems. Systems that use coal will definitely need to be replaced with a modern more efficient system. Systems that use fuel oil and have storage tanks will need some serious consideration as to replacement also. Also beware of the "in-floor" or "in-ceiling" radiant heating sources. These are the heat strips embedded in the flooring or ceiling that the Owner thought were state of the art when they were sold on them. They are very inefficient and have high energy costs.

• In cooling systems beware of strange noises the condensing unit or air handler make.

4.  Plumbing Problems:

• Check closely for leaks and water damaged areas that may need to be replaced.

• If the house has a galvanized water pipe system be prepared to spend several thousand dollars to have it replaced.

• Did you know there are two grades of copper piping primarily used in housing today? If you can visibly see some copper piping, check to see if there are blue or red lines along the pipe with text that matches.  If you see the blue lines and blue text, then the pipe will last much longer as the wall thickness of this pipe is heavier.

 5.  Electrical Problems:

• You need to verify the house has at least a 200 Amp service supply. (typical for a 3 bedroom, two bath home)

• One of the most overlooked safety items is GFCI outlets. (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter or GFI) Any outlets near kitchen sinks and all outlets in bathrooms should be GFI rated. GFI rated outlets will shut off the power if the device being used is short circuited.

6.  Improper Surface Drainage:

         This is a frequently found problem that is responsible for many common household headaches: water
         penetration of the basement or crawl space.  Check to be sure there is a positive slope away from the
         foundation to the house.  Also check crawl spaces for any standing water.  If its dry and you notice any
         indentions in the soil in the crawl space area, you can be assured when it rains water will gather in
         these areas.

7.  Deferred Maintenance:

          Be very cautious of a home suffering from deferred maintenance. You can spot them
          immediately and they will cost you a lot of money to bring up to acceptable
          standards. These are houses that have old ruddy looking and outdated carpet or
          some other type of flooring in need of replacement. They’ll have walls inside and out
          that need paint. Landscaping will not have been kept up. They’ll suffer everywhere
          and look as if they are begging for attention.