The Home Inspection Checklist Every Buyer Should Bring to a Showing

A proper home inspection happens after your offer's accepted, with a licensed inspector doing the real work. But there's a lot you can, and should, notice yourself, right at the showing, before you even get that far.

Outside the house

Walk the perimeter before you go in. Look at the grading around the foundation, water should slope away from the house, not toward it. Check the roof line from the street for obvious sagging, and look at the eavestroughs for rust or separation. Cracks in the foundation aren't automatically dealbreakers, but hairline cracks are different from wide ones, and it's worth noting which you're seeing.

Inside, room by room

Look at ceilings and upper corners of walls for water stains, even old, painted-over ones are worth asking about. Test a few light switches and check under sinks for any sign of past leaks. Open and close a few windows and doors; sticking can point to foundation settling.

The basement tells the truth

Basements are where a lot of a home's real condition shows up. Look for efflorescence, that white, chalky residue on foundation walls, which usually means water has been getting in at some point. A musty smell is worth taking seriously even if you can't see obvious moisture.

Don't skip the mechanicals

Ask how old the furnace, water heater, and roof are. These are expensive to replace, and knowing their age helps you budget realistically, even if everything looks fine today.

The real point of all this

None of this replaces a licensed inspector, that step still matters, and it's worth every dollar. But walking through with your eyes open at the showing stage means you're not blindsided later, and it gives you real questions to bring into the inspection itself.