From the street this was the best-looking house on the block: fresh stone, new garage doors, landscaping done inside the last eighteen months. The listing photos were excellent. The buyers had already emotionally moved in before the inspection was booked.
That is usually when the inspection matters most. Two hours in, we had found three issues that together represented somewhere between $28,000 and $41,000 of work — none of it visible from the driveway, and none of it disclosed.
5 items, ordered by priority.
The asphalt shingles were the 2004 originals. Granule loss across the entire south face, curling at the ridge, and two areas of soft decking near the rear valley. This is not a "watch it" item — it is a replacement inside twelve months, and the soft decking means the sheathing goes with it.
The new landscaping had buried the foundation wall by roughly six inches and reversed the slope. There was efflorescence on the interior basement wall directly behind it, and a hairline crack that had been recently parged over. Water has been getting in; the parge was cosmetic.
Both units were original to the build and running. The heat exchanger passed a visual check, but a 22-year-old mid-efficiency furnace paired with an R-22 air conditioner is a budget line, not a surprise. Replace both together and expect $12,000 to $16,000 installed.
A wall between the kitchen and family room had been removed and replaced with a flush beam. Good work, visually — but there was no permit on record and no engineer’s stamp. The buyers now own the liability, and their insurer may ask.
Three exterior receptacles and the two in the garage were not GFCI protected. Under $300 to correct, but worth doing before the first wet spring.
The buyers went back with a request for $34,000 or a price reduction to match. The sellers countered at $22,000 plus a roof replacement before closing, and the deal held together.
The inspection cost $525. The conversation it produced was worth roughly sixty times that.
Outdated wiring, DIY fixes and a hidden hazard that could have been expensive.
Read InspectionNot every issue is obvious. This one could have cost the buyer thousands.
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