What’s Not Covered in a Home Inspection? 8 Items Home Inspectors Pass Over

If you’re like most sellers, you hope to pass the home inspection’s 1,600-feature check with flying colors so you can sail through closing. While it’s a smart move to complete necessary repairs beforehand, don’t go overboard and waste your time (and money) on items not covered in the report.

Your home inspector won’t test every lightbulb, break open the walls to examine electrical, or dig into your underground septic system. Home inspectors are overall evaluators — not licensed electricians, plumbers, or HVAC technicians. Their primary role is to search for structural issues, mechanical defects, and health and safety concerns.

“Home inspectors wear a lot of hats, but they’re not necessarily an expert in every area,” says top agent Jason Mickelson, who has over 10 years of experience serving the Ames, Iowa market.

Not to mention, the average home inspection takes between two and two and a half hours (an hour to an hour and a half for condos), which is hardly enough time to drive a shovel into the ground to take a peek at your septic system.

To uncover what’s not covered in a home inspection, we checked in with Mickelson and Kathleen Kuhn, HouseMaster President and CEO and a licensed home inspector. HouseMaster is the oldest and one of the largest home inspection companies in North America, with over 200 franchises across the U.S. and in Canada. Here are eight items not included in a standard home inspection:

1. The sewer line

Most inspectors will not look at the sewer line in a standard home inspection, which connects your home to the city line. However, Kuhn shares that an increasing number of buyers are requesting an additional inspection service from a plumbing and drain company to check the sewer for cracks, tree roots, clogs, or any collapsed lines. Using a video camera, a specialist will scope the line and detect any repairs that may be needed. Because these repairs are often expensive, says Kuhn, “you may want to consider having these inspections before a buyer comes along as these issues will require immediate repair.”

2. Paint, wallpaper, and other finishes

According to the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI), inspectors are not required to inspect “paint, wallpaper, or other finish treatments.”

“Those are purely cosmetic and not something the inspector will — or should — point out,” adds Mickelson, who recently worked with a seller who asked if he should paint his interior before the home inspection.

That said, “when an inspector identifies peeling paint, they are generally going to assess the potential cause, if any,” says Kuhn. Three common causes for peeling or cracking paint are:

•     Water/humidity
•     Improper paint application or prep-work
•     Expired or low-quality paint

Your home inspector only sees the first listed cause as a “red flag” since this may indicate that the home has a history of water damage.

Home inspectors will not test for lead-based paint, which is common in homes built before 1978. If a buyer is concerned about lead-based paint, they need to hire a certified inspector or a risk assessor to evaluate the paint and recommend either abatement or continued good maintenance.

3. Mold and pests

Generally, a home inspection excludes identifying “the presence of plants, animals, and other life forms and substances that may be hazardous or harmful to humans including, but not limited to, wood-destroying organisms, molds, and mold-like substances.”

If a home inspector finds mold, they may label it on the report as “potentially mold,” says Mickelson. But they won’t break out mold testing kits to confirm. It’s up to the buyer to hire a certified mold inspector to evaluate further.

If a home inspector does report mold, order a mold test to disprove or verify the finding before negotiating removal costs with the buyer.

“I’ve been in some attics where there are mold spores, but they’re inactive. That’s a no-no — an inspector should not flag a home as unsafe without doing further tests,” Mickelson shares.

from HomeLight Blog https://www.homelight.com/blog/whats-not-covered-in-a-home-inspection/