These are tough things to catch, I see them either missed or overlooked when a buyer does the inspection themselves, and are EXPENSIVE to fix. Catch the problems BEFORE you become the new owner (I always recommend hiring a professional inspector) and the expense and responsibility to repair the items becomes the sellers-NOT YOURS!
- Foundation-walls in basement shows past water leaking, water seal paint has been applied but is flaking off, foundation is heaving out into the room, check for window well leaks.
- Roof-curled shingles, leaks in the attic, check for shingle flexibility by putting a ladder up onto to the roof and actually bending the shingles. If there is or has been a swamp cooler, check around the swamp cooler area very carefully outside on the roof and in the attic for past leaking.
- Electrical-needs to be at least 100 Amp system, be wary of screw in fuse systems which can be checked off and acceptable in an inspection, but may still want a licensed electrician to inspect.
- Plumbing problems-check for leaks under the sinks, around toilets, around washing machine
- Heating and A/C-these need to be matched to the house size. Once the furnace and air conditioning unit brand is found, Google the manufacturer and it will tell you the size of home the unit was designed for
