Get a Thorough Spring Home Inspection Before Buying Your Next House

Spring is in the air, and so is pollen! And while that means buying flowers (and antihistamines) for happy homeowners, it also means a new group of buyers is entering the market for the first time. But before you buy your first home, call Detail View Home Inspections to complete a Spring home inspection checklist!

Your home inspection in Roanoke, VA, is just a phone call away.

What is Your Spring Home Inspection Checklist?

A home inspection is an essential step in the home-buying process. And the best inspections are thorough and performed by a certified home inspector. 

At Detail View, we know that buying your home is one of the most important decisions you’ll make in your life, and one of the most expensive. With that in mind, we do our part to ensure there aren’t any additional unexpected expenses so your dream home doesn’t become a nightmare. 

Every season has its own challenges. Though you likely can’t get an inspection during each, a good inspector knows how to assess current conditions and make educated predictions for future ones. 

Every inspection contains hundreds of items, and each house is unique, so this will by no means be a complete list of everything we look at in an inspection. Instead, below are some of the basics of a Spring home inspection checklist. 

Is This Thing On? Appliances

One of the basic items in any spring home inspection checklist is your appliances. 

Most homes come with some appliances included with the purchase. If they’re included, they should work. So as we go through your house, we’ll check them all, including:

• Refrigerator
• Oven & Stovetop
• Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors
• Furnaces
• Be sure to ask if there are other appliances included you’d like checked. 
• Outlets – not appliances per se, but we’ll make sure there are no obvious breaks in your switches and outlets or loose wires that might be a safety hazard. 

Oh the Water… Plumbing and Water Quality

If there’s one thing in your home you’ll use every day, it’s water. Whether you’re in Roanoke City and use water as a public utility or in Botetourt County and have a well, get a water quality test with your home inspection in the Roanoke area. 

We’ll check for contaminants in your supply and, if needed, ensure that your well is working properly. 

While we’re at it, we’ll look at your plumbing components to ensure that you have water pressure and a working system. We can also partner with local plumbing companies to check your sewage line. 

When the Rain Comes

Text: inspector’s eye view during a spring home inspection checklist

Image Description:sewer pipe in the ground basement mount a new pipe on the floor

In Southwest Virginia, Spring is the rainy season. That may make it a little more difficult to plan a picnic, but it’s ideal for finding out how rain affects your prospective home. 

We’ll check your crawlspaces and basements for signs of mold, and all around your windows and doors to ensure proper seals. 

We’ll also look at your roof and check your attic to ensure that everything is put together properly to protect you from rain and all of the other elements. 

Pitching In

Of course, it’s not just seals that determine whether or not your home will have a leak. The pitch of your roof and the angle of your landscaping can all affect which way your water flows. 

Even if your home is well built, if the water flows back toward it, eventually, you’ll likely have a problem. 

What’s Eating You? 

Most financing options require homeowners to also get a termite inspection, as no banks want to finance a loan for a home with wood-destroying insect visitors!

There are many signs of a termite infestation that may not be obvious to the untrained eye. In addition to damage, our inspectors look for feces, hollow wood, and insect parts. 

Thinking Ahead – It Won’t Always Be Spring

If you’re new to Roanoke, here’s the bad news: Spring doesn’t last too long here. In fact, sometimes it seems like just a moment between winter and summer! 

So we need to think beyond the present when we’re inspecting your home. Here are some of the things we watch out for as we look ahead to future seasons. 

Bringing the Heat – How Will You Feel In Summer?

You might not need it now, but come July, you will want your air to be well-conditioned. 

There’s a reason they call it air conditioning instead of just cooling – air conditioning affects both the temperature and the humidity of your indoor air, making it comfortable in our humid Roanoke summers. 

So we’ll ensure your AC works as it’s supposed to before you need it. 

Who Can Think About Winter at a Time Like This? This Guy!

Conversely, once winter arrives, you’ll want to bring the heat. 

If you have a fireplace, that means ensuring the gas logs work. Likewise, Detail View will let you know whether your boiler, furnace, or other equipment is prepared. 

We’ve highlighted several of the Spring-centric Roanoke home inspection items in today’s blog, but a thorough inspection takes hours and relies on years of home inspection experience, so don’t take this spring home inspection checklist as a complete set of instructions!

Instead, trust in the professional home inspectors who call Roanoke home. Schedule your Detail View home inspection today!