ParrotNotes

Free Home Inspection Checklist for Buyers and Agents

Walk the house system by system and room by room, tap OK, Monitor or Issue for each item and add a note where something looks wrong. The findings collect themselves into a list of questions for the seller and the inspector, and you print the checklist or save it as a PDF. Use it on your phone at a showing, or print it blank for the clipboard.

A buyer's or agent's walk-through checklist. It is not a licensed home inspection: book a qualified home inspector before you rely on the condition of a house.

What the home inspection checklist covers

  • Exterior, roof and attic

    Grading and drainage, gutters, siding, windows, doors, deck and driveway, then the roof covering, flashing and chimney, and from the attic hatch the insulation, ventilation and any stains on the roof deck.

  • Structure and foundation

    Foundation cracks, a dry basement or crawl space, level floors and the diagonal cracks above doors and windows that can point to movement.

  • Plumbing, electrical and HVAC

    Water pressure, drains, the water heater's age, visible pipes and the main shutoff; the panel, outlets, GFCI outlets near water, switches and wiring; heating, cooling, the filter and air from every vent.

  • Kitchen, bathrooms and rooms

    Sink, appliances, cabinets and vent; toilets, showers, the exhaust fan and caulk; ceilings, floors, windows, doors, stairs and any smell of mold, sewage or gas.

  • Safety

    Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, railings, a bedroom window that opens for escape, and signs of termites or rodents.

  • Findings, questions and sign-off

    Every Monitor and Issue in one list with its note, the specialist checks to ask about, your questions for the seller or inspector, and signature lines for the buyer and whoever walked the house.

How to walk a house before the home inspection

Start outside: walk the lot once looking at how the ground drains, the gutters, the siding and the roof from the street. Then go in at the bottom of the house, the basement or crawl space, where water and foundation problems show first, and work up through the living floors to the attic hatch. In each room run a tap, flip the switches, open a window and look up at the ceiling for stains.

Mark something worn but working, such as an old water heater or gutters that need cleaning, as Monitor, and something that needs a repair or a closer look, such as a soft spot by the toilet or a wide foundation crack, as Issue. Write what and where in the note. That list becomes the questions you ask the seller and the home inspector, and later, what you may negotiate on.

This is a walk-through aid, not the inspection itself. HUD's buyer notice says a home inspection only happens if you arrange one, that the FHA does not perform home inspections, and that an appraisal, which estimates the value for your lender, does not replace one. The same notice says the EPA and the Surgeon General recommend testing all houses for radon, and suggests asking your inspector whether tests for mold, water quality, asbestos, lead paint or pests are relevant for the home.

Showing the house to buyers? Collect visitors with the open house sign-in sheet.

Selling instead? Estimate what you keep with the home sale proceeds calculator.

Walk-through checklist, home inspection, appraisal, final walk-through

Walk-through checklist
This page: what a buyer or agent notices at a showing or a second visit, written down so the right questions reach the seller and the inspector.
Home inspection
A paid visit by a qualified inspector who evaluates the home's condition and reports what needs repair or replacement. Ask for their standards of practice or a sample report.
Appraisal
An estimate of the home's value for the lender. It does not replace a home inspection.
Final walk-through
The buyer's last visit before closing, to confirm agreed repairs were made and nothing has changed. The same checklist works for it.

Tips for a walk-through that finds things

  • Test the smoke alarms

    The U.S. Fire Administration recommends smoke alarms inside and outside each bedroom and sleeping area and on every level of the home, tested monthly. Press the test button on each one.

  • Ask about radon

    The EPA recommends fixing a home when radon is 4 pCi/L or more, and considering it between 2 and 4 pCi/L. Ask whether the home has been tested, and when.

  • Check the year built

    For housing built before 1978, sellers and agents must give buyers the lead paint disclosure and the EPA pamphlet, and buyers get a 10-day period for a lead paint inspection or risk assessment unless both sides agree in writing to change or waive it.

  • Write the note for the inspector

    "Hairline crack, east basement wall, 3 feet long, dry" tells the inspector where to look. "Some cracks downstairs" gets lost.

More for agents and the people who walk properties: property inspection notes by voice, tips for new real estate agents.

Sources

Walking a house? Talk instead of typing.

Record yourself in ParrotNotes as you walk the rooms ("water stain on the ceiling under the upstairs bath") and get a transcript and a summary to paste into the notes here or into your message to the buyer, so nothing you said in the basement is lost by the kitchen. Free for 100 minutes of recording a month.

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Home inspection checklist questions