--- title: "Home Inspection Basics" url: https://stacklist.com/card/942ee6dd-c08d-4417-8a6f-d6ffdd1a2d03 source_url: "https://www.nerdwallet.com/mortgages/learn/home-inspection" stack: https://stacklist.com/c/home/stack/0a625e56-0e0d-4ceb-879d-b7ea3d5586c7 summary: "Home inspections are visual assessments of a house's physical structure, mechanical systems, and major appliances designed to uncover potential issues before closing on a purchase. The article covers what to expect during the process, including evaluation of the roof, attic, plumbing, electrical, and HVAC systems, helping buyers avoid costly unexpected repairs." tags: "home-inspection, homebuying, real-estate, property-maintenance, home-repair, mortgage" key_entities: "Kate Wood (person), Chris Jennings (person), NerdWallet (organization), home inspection (concept), homebuying process (concept), This Old House (organization), Los Angeles (location), Illinois State University (organization)" classification: "reference" content_hash: "sha256:85b94b8f5b28f5c154d4c2708f3ee4ed8ce7aeb21ea58d5a994d8596096debba" acp_version: "0.2" token_counts_approximate: 1666 visibility: public agent_accessible: true status: "final" --- # Home Inspection Basics What to Expect From a Home Inspection - NerdWallet Advertiser disclosure You're our first priority. Every time. We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with confidence. While we don't cover every company or financial product on the market, we work hard to share a wide range of offers and objective editorial perspectives. So how do we make money? Our partners compensate us for advertisements that appear on our site. This compensation helps us provide tools and services - like free credit score access and monitoring. With the exception of mortgage, home equity and other home-lending products or services, partner compensation is one of several factors that may affect which products we highlight and where they appear on our site. Other factors include your credit profile, product availability and proprietary website methodologies. However, these factors do not influence our editors' opinions or ratings , which are based on independent research and analysis. Our partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews. Here is a list of our partners . What to Expect From a Home Inspection A professional home inspection can ensure you're aware of any issues before closing on your new home. Written by Kate Wood Kate Wood Senior Writer/Spokesperson 6 years of experience Expertise Mortgages student loans personal loans Kate Wood is a lending expert and certified financial health counselor (CHFC) who joined NerdWallet in 2019. With an educational background in sociology, Kate feels strongly about issues like inequality in homeownership and higher education, and relishes any opportunity to demystify government programs. Prior to NerdWallet, she wrote about home remodeling, decor and maintenance for This Old House. Published in Edited by Chris Jennings Chris Jennings Contributing Editor 10 years of experience Expertise Mortgages Real Estate Home Equity Chris Jennings is a NerdWallet editor specializing in home lending topics. He has been writing and editing about mortgages and personal finance since 2016. He enjoys simplifying complex mortgage topics for first-time homebuyers and homeowners alike. Before joining NerdWallet, he wrote and edited content for a number of respected finance brands, including Bankrate, Forbes Advisor, and GOBankingRates. Born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, Chris earned a bachelor's degree in English from Illinois State University. Chris now calls Los Angeles home, where he lives with his wife, daughter, and their dog. other Updated Feb 2, 2026 Fact Checked How is this page expert verified? NerdWallet's content is fact-checked for accuracy, timeliness and relevance. It undergoes a thorough review process involving writers and editors to ensure the information is as clear and complete as possible. More on our editorial rigor Add as a preferred source on Google A home inspection helps you make a more informed decision about the home you're considering buying. If your home has potential issues, a home inspector can flag these, plus give you a better idea of the ongoing maintenance the property will require. When you're buying a house, a thorough home inspection can save you thousands of dollars in unexpected repairs — or from unwittingly buying a money pit. What is a home inspection? A home inspection is a visual assessment of a house's physical structure and mechanical systems. The inspector also checks that major appliances are functional, scrutinizes the heating and air conditioning system, examines the plumbing and electrical systems and may even poke around in the attic and basement. The goal of a home inspection is to uncover issues with the home itself. Inspectors won’t tell you if you’re getting a good deal on the home or offer an opinion on the sale price. What's included in a home inspection? Here’s a rundown of the typical areas home inspectors view when evaluating a property: li>ol]:ml-4 [&>li>ul]:ml-4 [&>li]:mt-2"> Roof Attic and basement (if accessible) Siding and windows Foundation Garage and driveway Property grounds Interior (floors, walls, ceilings, windows and doors) Plumbing and electrical Heating and cooling systems Insulation Major appliances What's not included in a home inspection? A standard home inspection typically doesn’t include specialized testing for: li>ol]:ml-4 [&>li>ul]:ml-4 [&>li]:mt-2"> Radon Wood-destroying organisms (WDO), such as termites, carpenter ants and rodents Mold Asbestos Lead paint For these areas, you’ll usually need to order separate inspections or add-on services from your inspector or a licensed specialist. » MORE: Home inspection do's and don'ts Mortgage loans from our partners Best Mortgage Lenders First-time Buyer Refinance HELOC Home Equity Loans Learn more at NBKC NBKC 4.5 NerdWallet rating NerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula takes into account loan types and loan products offered, online conveniences, online mortgage rate information, and the rate spread and origination fee lenders reported in the latest available HMDA data. Min. credit score 620 620 Min. down payment 3% NBKC offers conventional loans for as little as 3% down. 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