Home Buyer's Inspection Tips
It is always recommended to consider a Professional Inspection.

There are thousands of sites on the World Wide Web offering information about home buying and, in particular, home inspections. Two helpful government-related sites are:
Department of Housing and Urban Development, http://www.hud.gov/buying/index.cfm
Freddie Mac, www.freddiemac.com/homebuyers/. Once there, follow the link labeled "Homebuyer Resources."

A home inspection list does not replace the professional home inspection. This list is to offer you some helpful hints on things to look for before making an offer to purchase a home. Once you conduct your own pre-inspection and make a decision to buy a particular home, you will sign a contract and have the home you've selected professionally inspected. The professional home inspector gives you an objective and comprehensive report before closing.
In addition, you may want to have the home tested for possible environmental hazards which are not usually visible, including, lead in the water, lead in paint, asbestos, radon or other toxic materials.

Helpful Hints
Remember to consider the following when you conduct your home inspection so you can effectively evaluate the home:

1. The existing condition of all systems and equipment
2. Any unusual features that may increase or decrease the appeal of the home
3. Any problems or features you want your professional home inspector to check out
4. The quality and condition of the structure
5. Routine house cleaning and maintenance items: paint, furnace filters, gutters, caulking in bathrooms, landscaping, floors, appliances, walls, etc.

What to Expect
This information will help you in identifying a home's distinguishing features that make it attractive for purchase

1. Estimate the costs and identify solutions for any problems uncovered during the consumer home inspection
2. Provide a basis for comparing homes you are considering buying

THE INSPECTION
Floor Plans
When inspecting a home, consider its layout and the following factors:

1. Look at the amount and quality of storage space. Does it fit your needs?
2. Check to see if the home plan provides separation between personal and shared areas. The room layouts and circulation patterns should allow for flexible furniture arrangement.
3. Notice whether the parking space is convenient and provides for guest parking. Check for convenient layout. For example, the laundry room should be close to where the laundry is generated, ideally, on the second floor. Also, the refrigerator door should open toward the counter and work space of the kitchen.

Walls and Ceilings

1. Check to see if wallpaper over wood lath and plaster has been painted. If you try to remove the painted wallpaper, you may damage the plaster.
2. Check for walls and ceilings that are made of rock lath and plaster, which is common in homes built between 1935 and 1950. Typically, these are very high quality. Check the condition of drywall walls and ceilings. Pay particular attention to the condition of taped joints.

Windows
As you conduct your home inspection, be aware of the many different types of windows in the home and their condition. In some jurisdictions, fire codes
require that windows operate and that bedroom windows be large enough to escape through in case of fire.
Steel casement windows, for example, are not generally considered to be quality windows because they become sprung, readily conduct cold air into the home and will only take piggyback type storm windows. Replacement hardware is available but is becoming increasingly expensive. Steel casement windows can easily be replaced with new, double-hung vinyl replacement windows.
Wood double-hung windows are very common, especially in older homes. They're likely to be in good condition and storm windows will usually make them more energy efficient.
Aluminum sliding windows, which were often installed in the 1950s, are inexpensive but serviceable. They are now available with insulated glass, but storm windows are usually less expensive

1. Open the windows to ensure that they are not painted shut.
2. Check the casement window to see if the hardware is working properly and whether double-hung windows have broken sash cords.

Doors
Exterior doors should be the solid or panel type and should have good weather-stripping and thresholds.

1. Check interior and exterior doors to see if they are level, easy to open and close, and have hardware in good condition.
2. Check aluminum and wood sliding doors to see if they have single pane or insulated glass; the latter is much more energy efficient.
3. Check bi-fold closet doors throughout the home. They may be steel, wood or masonite. Wood is the best quality.

Closets

1. Note the number of closets, their condition and depth.

Fireplaces and Wood-Burning Stoves
Fireplaces are a popular selling feature, but you should carefully examine them during your home inspection.

1. Look up the chimney to see whether the flue is lined with terra cotta. Ordinary brick lining is in violation of most codes. It is usually unsafe. Though rare, a chimney of ordinary brick to a thickness of 12 inches on each side is acceptable. Check to see if there is a working damper in the fireplace. If there's not, home heat will escape up the chimney unless the opening is closed and the fireplace is not used. Newer fireplaces may have cap dampers, which are reported to be more energy efficient. Ask the owners to have the chimneys cleaned before you buy the home. Chimneys should be cleaned annually.
2. Check to see if the metal flues of wood-burning stoves or fireplaces are clean.

Floors
In newer homes, plywood is typically used. Hardwood floors are better and usually considered to be a distinguishing feature.

1. Check the condition of the floors or carpet. Ask the seller to replace the carpet or other floor covering or to refinish wood floors if necessary.
2. Check for moisture damage to parquet floors. In older homes, the parquet is made of strips of wood glued into 9-inch square blocks. This flooring is extremely sensitive to moisture and can swell and buckle when exposed to dampness. A newer type of parquet flooring is made of 1/2-inch or 3/4-inch plywood with a hardwood and laminated finish. This flooring is much less sensitive to moisture and can be safely installed even below grade at the basement level.

Insulation
As fuel costs continue to rise, insulation is an increasingly important consideration in a home. It's usually difficult to tell whether insulation exists within the walls of a home. As a rule, if the home has little or no attic insulation, there is probably none in the walls. If the attic is well insulated, the walls probably will be too, depending on the age of the home.
The R-factor is the unit of measurement of insulating value in a home. It refers to how well a material resists conductive heat flow.
The higher the R-factor, the greater the insulating value. The recommended R-factors are R-11 to R-15, for walls R-19 to R-30, for ceilings.

Ventilation
Use the following rule of thumb when inspecting a home's ventilation: Adequate ventilation in an attic is one square foot of ventilation for each 150 square feet of floor space. In most homes, you can reach the attic through a ceiling access panel if there is no stairway. Suburban homes built after World War II usually have an attic access in the center hall at top of the stairs or in one of the closets.

THE FINAL ANALYSIS
Once you've completed your consumer home inspection, analyze your findings to identify the positive and negative features of the home. Then decide how to fit them into your analysis. Pay special attention to the quality of the home's construction, the level of maintenance, the quality of individual parts, replacement cycles and any remodeling or other improvements that have been made.
Consider whether a home is especially well-built and decide which factors are most important to you. If a home has been well-maintained, it can command a price much higher than the same home with fair to poor maintenance. On the other hand, homes with poor maintenance can be bought at favorable prices.
The quality of individual parts of a home is also important and may not be what you expect. For example, a big, old home with modest construction features might have a high quality remodeled kitchen or a home with original casement windows may have upgraded to new, insulated glass replacement windows.
A sound home will last indefinitely, but its integral parts will need replacing on fairly regular cycles. You should know the replacement cycles for these parts and be able to recognize where they are in their estimated life cycle. Hot water heaters, for example, normally last about 8 to 12 years. If you're looking at a 10-year-old home with the original hot water heater, the unit probably will need to be replaced soon.
It's important for you to be aware of any remodeling or improvements because the value they add to a home can be significant. In your final analysis, be sure to consider taking note of any additions, an enclosed porch, a finished basement, added bathrooms or a remodeled kitchen.

Costs of Remodeling, Renovation and Repair
As a prospective homebuyer, it's difficult to be an expert in construction and maintenance costs but a working knowledge of these areas can be valuable. You will most likely need information in the following areas:

1. Cost of planned remodeling and renovation
2. Maintenance costs
3. Value of remodeling and renovation work already done
4. Cost comparisons of various materials

Value of Work Already Completed
When you inspect a home, your ability to detect and price previous remodeling can be valuable. If a home in a standard subdivision has been substantially remodeled, you should determine the approximate cost of the work and, the increased value of the property compared to other homes in the subdivision.
For example, suppose a home had a 300-square-foot addition built within the past five years. If you take the rule-of-thumb cost for additions of $100 per square foot, that addition may translate into a $30,000 improvement to the property. If the home is priced at $15,000 more than similar homes in the subdivision, you would be getting as much as $15,000 additional value by buying the home with the addition.
Consult with a real estate professional to determine whether the home has been over-improved for its neighborhood. If so, it may affect resale of the home.

Cost Comparison of Materials
When you compare one home to another, it's easier to tell the relative value if you know the cost of materials.  Keep in mind the following relationships when comparing material costs.

1. A slate roof costs about five to six times as much as an asphalt shingle roof.
2. The cost of masonry or brick facing is about three times as much as the cost of wood, vinyl or aluminum.
3. The cost of hardwood flooring is about twice that of carpeting laid over plywood.
4. An insulated glass window costs about twice as much as a window with single glass.
5. The cost per square foot for plaster walls is about two or three times as much as the cost of drywall.

Estimating Maintenance Costs
If a home has been neglected, it's helpful to know the maintenance costs, such as repainting, installing gutters and downspouts, sanding and finishing floors, window repair and minor carpentry. If you can estimate how much it will cost to restore the home to prime condition, you can better judge whether the home is priced properly. As the homeowner, you will be paying for maintenance.