A Complete Guide to Home Inspection Report

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When your home inspector completes the inspection, he will formulate a comprehensive report with all details about the condition of your home. This home inspection report contains information along with pictorial evidence about the condition of the exterior, interior, structure, and electric and plumbing systems of the building. This detailed report will help you to decide the next steps you need to take.

What Does a Home Inspection Report Looks Like

It is a common question: what exactly does a home inspection report look like? You can see some standard samples of home inspection reports published by the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI). All the formats of these reports contain the same sections of information.

The Inspection Process Includes

In the inspection process, a home inspector examines all areas of the home and identifies if the building is damaged in any way and if there are any safety concerns for the residents. Moreover, the inspector also checks the functionality of all the systems installed in the building.

A typical inspection process covers almost every aspect of the property. A home inspector goes through each component of a building, including:

Structural components like the foundation, doors, windows, walls, roof, and attic
Interior Features like the electrical system, plumbing system, Insulations, and HVAC
Exterior Features like landscaping and drainage system
Home appliances like furnaces, water heaters, and kitchen appliances

Major Areas of a Report

A comprehensive real estate inspection report contains detailed information about the building. However, the main areas that contain the information about which you might be really interested are mentioned below:

Basic Information

The initial part of your house inspection report encompasses basic information. It will contain the address of the home that was inspected, the estimated age of the building in years, a brief of weather conditions at the time of inspection, and the information related to the home inspector.

There will be a list of terms and symbols used in the report. These terms are usually the abbreviation of work status done by the home inspector throughout the property inspection.it is just like a key with a map. Some of the abbreviations and their meanings that are commonly used in house inspection reports are listed so you can have a clear understanding after reading an inspection report.

I = stands for Inspected. It states that the item marked was inspected
NI = stands for Not Inspected. The item that wasn’t inspected will be marked with NI.
NP = stands for Not Present. Such items will not be locatable or accessible to the home inspector.
S = stands for Safety Concern. The items that need immediate attention are marked for safety concerns.
R = stands for General Repair. Items for general repair can be repaired at any time, and there is no emergency to get them repaired.
D = stands for Defect. All the items that are non-functional are marked as defects.

For an inspector, it is a must to check the weather at the time of inspection to know actual status of the building and if it rained in the past three days, as this can have an effect, along with who was present at the time of the inspection.

Examination of Systems

It’s the major part of a home inspection report. It is all about the examinations made by the inspector during the inspection. The inspector marks the weak spots of the property and later on the technical team can fix the issues highlighted in the report.

Visuals of Issues

During the inspection, your home inspector will take pictures or videos of the issues found in the building. These visuals are used in the document with a short synopsis describing the problem an inspector finds out. These photos can be used during negotiations or as a reference when hiring a specialist to fix things. So it will be easier to check the repair work with before and after images

Analysis and Rating

At the end of the report, the inspector enlists the issues and rates them according to their importance. The higher rating indicates that the issue needs to be taken care of as a priority. The issues with a lower rating can wait, or they can get repaired later on.

If the report contains a higher number of urgent fixes required, then the buyer should negotiate, and if the urgent fixes are not that high, then it’s good to go. Well, this must be discussed with the real estate agents of both parties.

Benefits of a Property Inspection Report

The Property inspection report contains detailed information about the structural and functional systems of a building. This report is beneficial for both the seller and the buyer. The seller can get the opportunity to fix the highlighted issues priorily and make his property worth better. On the other hand, the buyer can negotiate and may not pay extra for the home. Moreover, your home inspector can help you to understand the report. So, if you have any technical questions, feel free to communicate.

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Bryan Medley

23:31 13 Mar 24

Shawn was very helpful. He pointed out the good things as well as a few bad ones. He is easy to talk to and answered all our questions. We are glad he was there for us.

Vicki Conaway

20:00 13 Mar 24

Kelsey Hansen

15:57 13 Mar 24

Dylan Scott with Linkhorn Home Inspections was great to work with. He was very helpful and knowledgeable in the home inspection process. We appreciate all of your advice and recommendations with our new home. Highly recommend anyone to use Linkhorn Home Inspections as the process was very quick and smooth.

Lemlem Tafere

06:00 13 Mar 24

After this company came inspecting my house and left I have found wires Sticking out on my house and in The ground of my house... I've called them Numerous sometimes they refuse to answer and text them, and they do not answer me..

Kyle Alkire

00:39 13 Mar 24

Great job. 10/10

Caelyn Reineke

19:30 04 Mar 24

Samer

00:45 04 Mar 24

Nicholas Provenzano

15:27 03 Mar 24

Very detailed report for a very fair price

Robin Miller

14:15 02 Mar 24

Deko Ibrahim

05:03 02 Mar 24

Nghia Nguyen

18:57 27 Feb 24

Terrible service from the inspector and terrible communication from the office.The inspector came out but failed to inspect the basement and attic. The inspector did not go up to the attic because it was obstructed. However, if you look in the pictures, there were only a few kid's jackets and shoe boxes that were supposedly preventing the inspector from coming up.In addition, I paid for a sewer inspection, but did not receive a report for it. It took 2-3 days of trying to reach the office to receive reply that their SD card was corrupted. At the moment, I am still awaiting for a refund for this added serviceAfterwards, after many attempts to get there company to revisit the missing parts of the home. I received no comments about the attic space nor basement. The report only contained 3 pictures and a description that said, "Roof structure observation". I received no descriptive observation of the condition of the attic or structure.The office knows that I am in a tight timeline for the inspection since my inspection contingency was approaching, but I had to be the one calling them consistently for an update. I had to reach out get the inspection reschedule. I had to call to ask for the report.Again, I do not recommend Linkhorn. I should've spent another $100 and went with Flinn Inspection Group to save myself a headache.

Jesse Pertuset

15:55 23 Feb 24

The online form to request a home inspection with optional additional checks was very easy and we were able to schedule an inspection within 3 days of booking. The inspector was very friendly and polite and went over everything he discovered with us. He then sent a detailed report that same night which included photos he took of each area that needed attention.

Chris Kreuz

05:27 21 Feb 24

Linkhorn was Incredible! Jim was on time, professional, friendly and super knowledgeable about each section of the inspection. Jim addressed all of my concerns and educated me about things I didn't even know to ask about. I would recommend them any time and will definitely use them again!

Jaclynn Hartenstein

18:14 20 Feb 24

Linkhorn Inspection Group did a wonderful job. Jim was my professional inspector, and he was awesome! Very detail in his work, helpful in understanding and willing to point things out to me. He was thorough, and very professional. I appreciated him greatly and would use him again in the future for another home as my inspector! Thanks Linkhorn, especially Jim!

Anabelladonna 13

18:29 16 Feb 24

Linkhorn was AMAZING! They were on time, professional, friendly (both in person and on the phones) and super knowledgeable about each section of the inspection. Dylan addressed all of my concerns and educated me about things I didn't even know to ask about. I now know we can feel safe in our new home, and for a family with children you can't ask for anything better. The final report was very detailed and color-coded labeling items that would be a safety hazard, things that need addressed now, and maintenance items to keep an eye on and budget for later. I am very impressed!

Felix P

11:10 19 Dec 23

I wish I could leave a good review, but I cannot. The entire process felt rushed and the home inspector did not do a thorough job. As soon as the home inspector walked into the house, he was visibly annoyed. He said on multiple occasions “this is too big of a home for one inspector”. He rushed through the entire inspection, didn’t go over everything with me, and overlooked some visible damage. On the floor in the living room, there were damaged hardwood floorboards (you can even see them in the pictures from the Zillow listing). This damage was not noted in the inspection at all. Since it wasn’t noted, we just assumed it was no big deal, or it was possible water damage (there was water damage in other areas of the home). Turns out, it was termite damage. Once the drywall was removed, we discovered a ton of termite damage that ended up costing us several thousands of dollars to treat and remediate. I understand that there was no way to know what was behind the drywall during the inspection, but because there were multiple floorboards with extensive termite damage in the middle of the living room that just was either ignored or overlooked, it makes me question the rest of the inspection. We talked to neighbors who were interested in purchasing it and flipping it, but they noticed the termite damage and underbid the home because of it. If they noticed the damage, why didn’t the inspector?? The inspector also said the insulation in the attic was sufficient, but the insulation is well below the ceiling rafters (which I now know is less than ideal).Overall, I would strongly advise against using Linkhorn for home inspections because of our experience. I definitely wouldn’t have moved forward with purchasing the home had I known there was termite damage and now I’m stuck with a remediation bill worth thousands of dollars.

Amanda Tedrick

09:59 25 Jan 23

Our inspector, Shawn was amazing! He was thorough, knowledgeable, professional, and beyond accommodating. He was patient with me while I asked a myriad of questions and even anticipated which questions I might ask. The staff in the office were just as wonderful. The whole team made our home inspection easy and gave us great information that allowed us to make informed decisions. Thank you Shawn and the Linkhorn team! We’ll definitely be recommending you to family & friends in need of a home inspection!

Joy Walker

04:02 26 Oct 22

We used Linkhorn Home Inspection and as someone who has bought a home 3 times, this has been one of my best experiences during inspection. Steve, was friendly, helpful, talked us through each part of the inspection and was very informative. He also was honest that inspections are a lot and can be overwhelming but his job is just to do a thorough job so you know everything there is to know as you go through the buying process. He was timely in getting his report to us after as well. I would recommend this company and if ever buying again would use again.

Allyson Adams

21:59 19 Oct 22

Dylan was great to work with. He provided some already observed issues about our likely new house as soon as we arrived during his inspection. He took time to explain some other areas later on with great detail. He was very thorough and answered all of our questions. We are very happy with our entire experience.

Gina Oswalt

17:48 12 Oct 22

Our home inspector, Denny, from Linkhorn was exceptional. He was very thorough with the inspection and explained everything very well. The process of setting up the appointment, coordinating with all parties was seamless. The communication and respect was noticed and appreciated. I have used Linkhorn for many many home inspections and I will continue to do so. Thanks Linkhorn for the great service.

wilbur

21:42 08 Apr 22

Foundation issues not properly recognized costing thousands of dollars in immediate repairs needed to prevent full collapseElectric issues not properly recognized costing thousands of dollars in repairs, causing fires, and leaving my family unknowingly living in a very dangerous house. The grounding to the house was illegal, and not up to code and the electric was arcing to the roof, and had 4 feet of exposed wires to the elements. This electrical oversight led to destruction of my dryer, the line that ran to it, and the need to buy a new dryer.Also, the electrical outlet for the stove in the kitchen only had 110v at the outlet, when it needed 220v. This was also missed, causing me to not have a stove the first month I lived here.I am annoyed that the attic and insulation were not checked, even though my local vermin catcher and roofer both accessed the attic within 1 min of arrival. By the way, my insulation didn't even cover the flooring jointsThey will not honor money back guarantee. They seem to not care.This is my experience and will not ever recommend any of their services. In fact I advise you to runaway.The pictures are the outside electric exposed wires causing arcing and the foundation work being done to prevent full collapseTrenches had to be dug. Drainage had to be installed with a sump pump, and steel beams had to be installed for the foundation. All electrical from the pole to and including the fuse box need replaced due the the outside ILLEGAL wiring that was not caught upon inspection.EDIT-Denny Heard about my issues and made everything right. I am very pleased with the resolution that we came to. Thank you very much Denny. You have restored My confidence in your company!