I watch TV shows about flipping properties with amusement, as the cast of the shows often pay little attention to points a home inspector would look at.
Shows like “Flipping Vegas” and “Flip or Flop” often show the cast buying a house without getting a home inspection, and worse, they often turn around to sell it without any intention of going over the entire house, unless they encounter a problem during their planned renovations.
In several episodes, the cast of the show never go into attic, but later in the episode, they discover there is a problem that would have been easily found had anyone inspected the attic. Such as in an episode of “Flip or Flop” where they discover moisture in the bedroom ceiling that would have been obvious if they had seen the water in the attic. Or in “Flipping Vegas” when it turns out birds have nested in the attic, but it’s not discovered until the renovation is near completion. In any of these cases, had they hired a certified home inspector, these problems could have been discovered early.
The lesson for the home buyer is just because your potential purchase looked newly remodeled, that does not mean you are ok to skip the home inspection process. A qualified home inspector will go over the home from the roof down to the ground, and will look for more than just new counter tops.
Here are just a couple of things I have discovered while inspecting an attic:
