Your Home Inspection Found 47 Things. They Are Not All Equally Important.
You get the inspection report back and it's 74 pages long.
There are 47 things marked for attention.
The house is apparently falling apart.
Probably not.
A good home inspector's job is to document what they see. That can include everything from a serious electrical concern to a loose doorknob. Both may belong in the report, but they don't deserve the same amount of your attention.
One of the most useful things we can do after an inspection is stop counting items and start sorting them.
Start With Health and Safety
Some findings deserve attention because of what could happen if they're ignored.
An electrical condition that presents a shock or fire concern belongs in a different category from a bedroom door that doesn't latch quite right.
The same can be true of combustion or venting concerns, structural issues, significant water intrusion and other conditions that could affect the people living in the house or cause substantial damage.
That doesn't automatically tell us what the seller should repair. That's a separate negotiation.
It tells us where to start paying attention.
Then Look at the Major Systems
The next bucket I care about is the expensive stuff.
Roof.
Furnace and air conditioning.
Plumbing.
Electrical system.
Foundation and structure.
Sewer line.
Those aren't automatically problems just because they're old. An older furnace that is operating properly isn't necessarily a defective furnace.
But if an inspector identifies a potentially significant problem with a major system, I want to understand it before the inspection period ends.
Sometimes the general inspector can give us enough information.
Sometimes the correct answer is: **we need someone who specializes in this.**
A General Inspector Isn't Every Kind of Specialist
I almost always recommend a general home inspection because it gives us trained eyes on most of the house.
But a general home inspector isn't simultaneously a structural engineer, electrician, HVAC technician, roofer, plumber, sewer specialist and mold expert.
That's not a criticism. It's the nature of a general inspection.
A finding in the report may be the beginning of the investigation rather than the final diagnosis.
If the inspector sees something potentially significant, we may need another professional to determine what is actually happening and what, if anything, needs to be done about it.
Maintenance Items Still Matter
This doesn't mean we ignore the smaller stuff.
A dripping faucet is still dripping.
Missing caulk is still missing.
A loose handrail should still be tightened.
The inspection report can become a pretty useful maintenance list after you own the house.
But there's a difference between **something you should eventually fix** and **something that should materially affect whether or how you buy the house.**
That's an important distinction when you're deciding what to do during the inspection period.
Don't Let the Number of Findings Scare You
Older houses often generate longer inspection reports.
That isn't particularly surprising.
A house has thousands of components, and a home that's been occupied for 30, 40 or 50 years is going to have things that are worn, outdated, repaired imperfectly or simply different from how we'd build them today.
A long report doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad house.
Likewise, a short report doesn't guarantee you're buying a great one.
I'd much rather understand **what the findings actually mean** than compare houses by page count.
Not Every Crack Means the Foundation Is Failing
Concrete cracks.
If you inspect enough houses, you're going to see them.
Some are minor. Some aren't.
The existence of a crack by itself doesn't tell us enough. Location, movement, displacement, water intrusion and the surrounding conditions can matter.
This is another place where an inspector may recommend additional evaluation if something looks concerning.
I don't want to dismiss a potentially important structural issue.
I also don't want a buyer assuming that every crack in a concrete slab means they're about to purchase a major headache.
We investigate.
The Inspection Isn't a Shopping List for the Seller
This is where buyers can get sideways.
An inspection report might identify dozens of things. That doesn't mean the next step is to copy all 47 items into an inspection objection and tell the seller to fix everything.
My general preference is to concentrate on the issues that materially matter: health and safety concerns, major systems, significant defects and potentially expensive problems.
That doesn't mean there's a magic dollar amount below which something can't be discussed. Every house and every transaction is different.
It means we're trying to make decisions, not win a contest for the longest inspection objection.
The Decision Still Belongs to You
My role is to help organize the process, make sure you understand the contractual deadlines, help obtain additional information when necessary and discuss your options.
I can also tell you what catches my attention and why.
But it's your house and your decision.
You may care deeply about something another buyer wouldn't care about at all. You may be comfortable taking on a repair another buyer wouldn't touch.
That's okay.
The goal of the inspection isn't to produce a perfect house.
It's to give you better information about the house you're considering buying so you can decide whether you're still comfortable with the deal — and, if not, what you want to do about it.