What an inspection report looks like

Just had an inspection yesterday on a property and realized that most buyers are unfamiliar with the whole concept of an inspection report.

An inspection report is a long pdf produced by a professional inspection firm that you hire to help you perform your physical inspection of a property you are considering buying.

Depending upon the size of the building, you’re going to pay anywhere from $500-1500 for the report.

Because you’re paying so much, it’s kind of annoying that the report has a ton of qualifiers in it. It says things like “We’re not roofers. You should have a roofer look at the roof” and “We’re not foundation experts. You should have a foundation expert look at the foundation.”

Still, despite the equivocation, an inspection report is extremely valuable. It gives you a roadmap to use for your other investigations (remember, I bring a whole team to inspections). And it gives you pictures and descriptions of problem areas so that you have some proof for your discussions with the sellers.

To give you a sense for what an inspection report looks like, I have uploaded an old one from La Rocca inspections from right before we acquired our Branden property: Better Dwellings LIA 2241 Branden Street.