Can you guess the most common home inspection issues?(part 1)

For full disclosure this is based on what I find during home inspections in northern Utah, specifically the Wasatch Front area. I don’t keep an actual count so this is an estimate from memory.

Electrical issues.

I find some sort of electrical issue in most home inspections. Either a bad GFCI, a double tapped wire or an outlet wired incorrectly.  In older houses, sometimes I’ll find dangerous knob and tube and out of dated wiring that could be a fire hazard.

Roof.

The roofing is the first line of defense from the elements. The shingles, flashing, drip edge, soffit, fascia and rain gutters all play an important role with keeping the entire house dry. If any of these are in less than good condition, it’s a major issue.

Plumbing.

The water heater has a few safety requirements that seem to be ignored fairly often. The earthquake straps, the pressure relief valve extension tube or a missing expansion tank, make the inspection report quite commonly.

I see a lot of toilets that are loose to the flange, if it starts to leak it can cause some serious damage real quick.

Any amount of a leak will make the report. A leak will never fix itself.

Safety.

It’s  surprising how often basic safety is ignored. Missing or non-working smoke detectors, missing or loose handrails and guardrails. The lack of a proper fire egress and decks that are not secured to the house correctly. Some of the electrical issues could overlap into this category as well.

I feel we need to cover another couple of categories and I think there is enough info worth mentioning to have 2 parts to this blog. Watch for the second part next week.

Chris Lynch is the owner/operator of Reliable Home Inspections based in Salt Lake County and services Salt Lake, Utah, Davis, Weber, Tooele and Summit Counties.