What Does a Home Inspector Do?

Understanding What a Home Inspection Is — and What It Is Not

A home inspection is an important part of understanding the condition of a property.

At Land Home Inspections, our job is to perform a professional visual inspection of the home’s accessible systems and components, document the conditions we observe, and provide you with a detailed inspection report.

Just as important, there are limits to what a home inspector can inspect, determine, or repair.

Understanding those limitations before your inspection can help you get the most value from the process.

What Does a Home Inspector Inspect?

A residential home inspection generally includes an evaluation of the major visible and accessible systems and components of the property.

Depending on the property and accessibility, these may include:

Roofing

Exterior

Foundation and structure

Basement or crawlspace

Electrical system

Plumbing system

Heating system

Cooling system

Attic

Insulation and ventilation

Interior rooms

Doors and windows

Installed appliances

Other visible and accessible components included within the inspection scope

The inspector operates normal controls when appropriate and observes conditions that are visible and accessible at the time of the inspection.

What Happens When We Find a Problem?

Finding problems is part of the inspection process.

When we observe a condition that should be brought to your attention, we may:

Document the condition in the inspection report

Include photographs when appropriate

Explain what was observed

Identify safety concerns or significant deficiencies

Recommend repair, correction, monitoring, or further evaluation when appropriate

Recommend evaluation by a qualified specialist when the condition falls outside the scope of a general home inspection.

Our role is to provide information about the property so you can make a more informed decision.

A Home Inspector Is NOT a Code Inspector

This is one of the most common misunderstandings about home inspections.

A Kentucky home inspection is not a building-code compliance inspection.

A home inspector and a building/code inspector perform different jobs.

Building inspectors working for governmental authorities may enforce applicable building codes, review construction documents, issue approvals, inspect permitted work, and determine whether construction complies with applicable requirements.

A home inspector does not perform that function during a residential home inspection.

We may identify an observed condition that appears unsafe, deficient, damaged, improperly installed, or in need of further evaluation, but we are not determining whether the home is or is not compliant with current building codes.

This distinction can be especially important when inspecting older homes. Building standards and commonly accepted practices have changed significantly over time.

A Home Inspection Is Primarily Visual

A home inspection is a visual examination of the readily accessible areas, systems, and components of the property.

There are things we simply cannot see.

For example, we cannot see conditions hidden:

Inside finished walls

Beneath flooring

Behind cabinets

Above inaccessible ceilings

Inside concealed plumbing

Inside underground systems unless a separate inspection is performed

Behind stored belongings

In areas that cannot be safely acessed

A home inspection is not destructive testing.

We do not cut into walls, remove finished materials, tear apart equipment, or damage the property in order to investigate a concealed condition.

We Do Not Move Personal Belongings or Furniture

The property should be prepared so that important systems and areas are reasonably accessible before the inspection.

Home inspectors are generally not required to move:

Furniture

Boxes

Stored belongings

Rugs or carpeting

Appliances

Shelving

Personal property

Debris

Other objects that restrict access

If an electrical panel, attic entrance, furnace, water heater, crawlspace entrance, plumbing component, or other inspection area is blocked, the inspector may not be able to inspect it fully.

For this reason, we encourage sellers and occupants to make important areas accessible before the scheduled inspection.

Safety Comes First

There may also be situations where an area or component cannot be inspected because accessing it could be unsafe or could damage the property.

Examples may include:

Unsafe roof conditions

Extremely steep roofs

Unsafe or inaccessible crawlspaces

Inaccessible attic areas

Electrical hazards

Structural instability

Standing water

Dangerous animals

Conditions that could place the inspector or others at risk

When an area cannot be safely inspected, that limitation may be documented in the inspection report.

A Home Inspection Is Not a Guarantee or Warranty

A home inspection provides information about conditions observed at the property at the time of the inspection.

It cannot predict everything that may happen in the future.

A furnace could operate properly during the inspection and fail later.

A plumbing connection may not be leaking during the inspection but could develop a leak afterward.

A roof may show no visible active leakage on inspection day but could leak during different weather conditions.

For these reasons, a home inspection should be viewed as a snapshot in time, not a guarantee that nothing will ever go wrong with the property.

We Cannot Predict the Future

Home inspectors cannot reliably determine exactly when a component will fail.

We may observe signs of deterioration, aging, damage, improper operation, or conditions that warrant attention, but the remaining service life of a component can be affected by many factors.

The inspection report reflects the conditions that were observable during the inspection.

We May Recommend a Specialist

A general home inspector evaluates many different systems, but a home inspector does not replace every specialized professional.