Published 15 Aug 2023
What is a Home Inspection Checklist?
A home inspection checklist is a tool used by home inspectors to assess the physical condition of a property. It identifies any existing or potential structural issues and damages. Performing home inspections help property owners and home buyers identify areas that need urgent repairs.
In this article
- What is a Home Inspection Checklist?
- Importance and Benefits
- What Should be Included in a Home Inspection Checklist?
- How to Conduct a Home Inspection with a Checklist
- FAQs About Home Inspection
- Efficiently Inspect Homes with SafetyCulture
- Featured Home Inspection Checklists
What is a Home Inspection Checklist?
A home inspection checklist is a tool used by home inspectors to assess the physical condition of a property. It identifies any existing or potential structural issues and damages. Performing home inspections help property owners and home buyers identify areas that need urgent repairs.
Importance and Benefits
Home inspections provide buyers and sellers with a clear understanding of the property’s condition. It helps them avoid investing in a home with hidden defects and potential hazards that might cost them in the future. These range from highlighting safety issues, such as faulty electrical wiring or gas leaks, enabling buyers to address them promptly and ensure the safety of the occupants. Conducting a home inspection benefits all, for example:
- Sellers may opt for a pre-listing inspection of the property to identify and address issues beforehand, making the property more marketable.
- Buyers typically schedule a home inspection to assess the property’s condition before finalizing the purchase.
- Real estate appraisers may assess the condition of a property, allowing buyers to make informed decisions about its value. They can negotiate a fair price based on the repairs or maintenance required.
What Should be Included in a Home Inspection Checklist?
According to the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI), home inspection reporting should be based upon the international standards of practice for performing general inspections. Typically, a home inspection includes checking the following:
- roof
- exterior
- basement
- foundation
- crawlspace and structure
- heating
- cooling
- plumbing
- electrical
- fireplace
- attic
- insulation and ventilation
- doors and windows
- interior
- optional systems and components
How to Conduct a Home Inspection with a Checklist
With an existing checklist in hand, you can conduct a thorough assessment of your home’s condition in an orderly manner. Here’s a step-by-step guide on inspecting homes with this helpful tool:
1. Gather the Necessary Tools.
But before you begin the inspection, ensure that you have all the necessary tools to aid you in the process. Some essential tools include a flashlight, screwdriver, tape measure, moisture meter, and a ladder for accessing high areas.
2. Prepare the Checklist for Home Inspection.
After assembling the tools you need, you need to get your checklist ready for use. This home inspection checklist is segmented into sections to help you where to start. For example, some of these areas are :
Structure – This section inspects the house’s interior and exterior for cracks, stains, and other structural flaws.
Roof – This section will cover roof material integrity, house ventilation, and Chimneys (if applicable).
Interior Rooms – This section will cover everything from flooring, windows, doors, walls, paneling, fireplace (if applicable), lights, and other electrical outlets.
3. Note Your Observations.
As you carry out the inspection, make detailed notes of your findings, referencing the checklist as you go. These customizable checklists allow you to take photographs or videos of any issues or areas that require attention. Proper documentation will be valuable when discussing the inspection results with the property owner or real estate agent.
FAQs About Home Inspection
Home inspections are normally performed by certified home inspectors. Homeowners can look for agencies that perform these tasks, such as InterNACHI in the United States. Otherwise, real estate agents, brokers, appraisers, or buyers/sellers can simply conduct a DIY Inspection.
The duration of a home inspection usually lasts over two hours for an average-sized house while smaller properties, such as condos, take an hour or more to complete. Home inspections, however, are still heavily dependent on the actual size of the property, as well as the number of rooms or areas to be inspected.
Generally, the buyer pays for the home inspection because it is performed on their behalf to proactively identify any potential issues with the property. There are times, however, when the seller may choose to pay for the inspection as a way to exhibit transparency to the buyer. Therefore, it is important to clarify who will pay for the inspection during the negotiation phase.
Efficiently Inspect Homes with SafetyCulture
Property inspectors often rely on paper home inspection forms and tedious data re-entry and photo uploads to generate their final reports. Using digital home inspection checklists can help home inspectors complete their inspections on their mobile devices and generate home inspection reports instantly.
SafetyCulture (formerly iAuditor) is an award-winning operations management platform that can be used to conduct property inspections on a mobile device on-site. Take unlimited photos of the property, capture hazards and risks, take annotations and notes, and instantly send reports to clients.
With SafetyCulture, you can perform the following actions to improve your home inspection process:
- Capture what’s happening at the moment with video evidence or photos. You may also add context to your media attachments.
- Digitize the home inspection process using dynamic and customizable checklist forms quickly.
- Capture critical information about issues spotted during inspections and assign actions to resolve them in minutes, not days.
- Generate and share your professional reports on the spot instantly. Catch anything you missed and create/assign tasks to be done off reports.
- Ensure that inspections will be completed on time through the app’s Scheduling feature.
Featured Home Inspection Checklists
Basic Inspection Checklist
A basic home inspection checklist is used at a pre-settlement inspection before the client accepts full ownership of the property. It helps ensure the structure including grounds, roof, attic, exterior, and interior of the house are in good condition. This checklist was converted by Jarrod Boyd using SafetyCulture (formerly iAuditor).
Home Inspection Form
Use this home inspection form to inspect for home landscaping, driveway, exterior, sewage system, structure and basement, heating and cooling systems, water system, electrical system, individual rooms, and garage. Document a comprehensive home inspection report using this form template and by adding photos and detailed notes.
Property Inspection Checklist
A property inspection list is a tool that serves as a guide for landlords to inspect the places or things they need to check. Property inspections are often done either before, during, or after tenancy to ensure that properties are maintained in tip top condition. Failure to perform regular property inspections can likely cause accidents, costly repairs for property damages and getting sued by tenants.
House Inspection Checklist
This house inspection checklist is used by property owners in conducting walkthrough inspection of the property. This checklist includes checking of exteriors, roof, interior, fireplace, garage and yard. It also assesses whether house features are good, average or in need of repair.
Facility Self-Inspection Checklist
Prior to home inspections performed by professional inspectors, homeowners can also conduct a review of their own property. A facility self-inspection checklist allows homeowners to check specific home areas such as walkways, sidewalks, and parking areas, among others. This enables them to quickly identify spaces where immediate improvements are required.
