What is a Home Inspection Report?

A home inspection report is the written record of what a home inspector saw when they walked through a house: what each major system is, what condition it looked to be in, and which defects they found, usually with photos. Reports often run 20 pages or more. The part you’ll use most is the summary of defects near the front, because that list is what you take into repair negotiations with the seller.

Below is what goes into a report, what it leaves out on purpose, and how to read one without panicking.

01What a home inspection report is (and isn’t)

The inspector works from a written standard of practice. The two big national ones come from ASHI (the American Society of Home Inspectors) and InterNACHI (the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors), and many states that license inspectors have their own version. The standard tells the inspector what they must look at and report on, and what they don’t have to.

The key limit is that it’s a visual inspection of the parts of the house they can safely reach. InterNACHI’s standard says plainly that an inspection “will not identify concealed or latent defects.” The inspector doesn’t open walls, pull up carpet, or move the seller’s furniture and boxes. If a couch hides a stain on the floor, the report won’t mention it.

It also isn’t any of these:

• A code inspection. Inspectors aren’t required to check compliance with building codes. A 1970s house can be “not to current code” in a dozen ways and still be fine.
• An appraisal. The report says nothing about what the house is worth. Your lender orders the appraisal separately.
• A repair estimate. Most inspectors won’t price repairs. For that you call a roofer, electrician, or plumber.
• A pass/fail grade. No house “passes.” Even new construction shows up with a list of defects.

02What’s inside a typical report

Formats vary by software and by inspector, but most reports have the same parts.

The summary

The defects pulled out into one list, often color-coded. Read this first. Many inspectors sort items into groups like “safety hazard,” “major defect,” “repair,” and “maintenance/monitor.” The labels differ from one company to the next, so check the key at the front of your report.

System-by-system sections

Each section describes what’s there and then lists problems. The ASHI and InterNACHI standards cover roughly the same ground:

• Roof: covering type, flashing, skylights, chimneys, gutters and downspouts.
• Exterior: siding, trim, doors, windows, decks, steps, walkways, and grading (whether the ground slopes water away from the house).
• Structure and foundation: basement, crawl space, visible framing, signs of movement or water.
• Electrical: service drop, main panel, breakers, a sample of outlets and switches, GFCI protection.
• Plumbing: supply and drain pipes you can see, water heater, fixtures, water pressure and drainage.
• Heating and cooling: the furnace or boiler, AC, and visible ductwork, run using normal controls like the thermostat.
• Attic, insulation and ventilation: insulation type and rough depth, roof vents, bath fans vented outside (or not).
• Interior: walls, ceilings, floors, stairs and railings, a sample of windows and doors.
• Fireplaces: visible parts of the firebox, damper and flue.

Photos and notes

Each defect should come with a photo, its location (“northeast corner of basement”), and a recommendation, usually “evaluate by a licensed electrician” or similar. That’s normal. It means the inspector spotted a symptom and wants a specialist to find the cause and the fix.

Limitations

Every report lists what the inspector couldn’t check and why: roof too steep or wet to walk, attic hatch blocked, AC not run because it was too cold outside, utilities off. Read this section closely. Anything listed here is an unknown, and you may want it checked before your inspection contingency runs out.

03What’s left out unless you pay for it

The general inspection doesn’t cover several things buyers assume it does. The InterNACHI standard specifically excludes determining mold, pests, and environmental hazards. These are usually add-ons, either from the same inspector or a separate specialist.

Radon

Radon is an odorless radioactive gas that seeps up from soil and rock. The EPA estimates it causes about 21,000 lung cancer deaths a year in the U.S. and calls it the leading cause of lung cancer among people who don’t smoke. You can’t see or smell it, so the only way to know is to test.

In a home sale, the usual test is a continuous monitor left in the lowest lived-in level for at least 48 hours with windows and doors kept closed. The EPA recommends fixing the house if the level is 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) or higher. A radon mitigation system can be part of your repair request.

Wood-destroying insects (termites)

A general inspector may write “possible insect damage, recommend pest evaluation,” but the formal check is a separate wood-destroying insect inspection. The standard form used across the country is the NPMA-33, and some states use their own form. If you’re using a VA loan in an area the VA rates as high termite risk, the lender will require one. Signs you’d see yourself: mud tubes on foundation walls, wood that sounds hollow when tapped, or tiny piles of wings near windowsills.

Mold

The general inspector will note visible growth, musty smells, and moisture they find with a meter, because moisture is the real problem. Lab testing is usually a separate service. The EPA’s guidance is that “in most cases, if visible mold growth is present, sampling is unnecessary.” You need to fix the water source and clean or remove what’s growing, whatever the species. Don’t let anyone sell you an expensive air test to tell you the black spots on the basement wall are mold.

Other common add-ons

• Sewer scope: a camera run down the main drain line to the street. Worth it on older homes with big trees in the yard, where roots get into clay or cast-iron pipe.
• Septic inspection if the house isn’t on city sewer.
• Well water testing if it’s on a private well.
• Chimney inspection by a chimney sweep with a camera, if you plan to burn wood. A cracked flue liner can let heat and gases into the walls, and the general inspector only sees the parts visible from the firebox and the roof.

04How to read the findings without panicking

A 40-page report with 70 items looks scary. Most of those items are small: a loose toilet, a missing outlet cover, caulk to redo. Sort the list into three piles.

Safety items: deal with these before you move in

Missing GFCI protection near water, double-tapped breakers, no smoke or CO alarms, a gas appliance that isn’t venting properly, loose stair railings. Most are cheap fixes, but they come first.

Big-money items: negotiate on these

Roof near the end of its life, foundation movement, active water in the basement, an old or failing furnace, AC or water heater, outdated wiring (knob-and-tube, some aluminum branch circuits), failing sewer line. Get a contractor’s quote for each before you go back to the seller with a number.

Clues that point to something bigger

These look minor but deserve a second look:

• Cracks in walls or ceilings. Thin hairline cracks at the corners of doors and windows are common from normal settling and shrinkage. Cracks wider than about 1/4 inch, cracks that are wider at one end, doors that stick, or floors that slope noticeably are different. If the inspector recommends a structural engineer, hire one before your contingency ends.
• Water stains on ceilings. The question is whether the stain is old or active. Inspectors use a moisture meter: a dry stain under a roof that was replaced last year may be history, while a damp one under a bathroom means a leak right now. A fresh coat of paint over just one spot of ceiling is worth asking about.
• Efflorescence (white, chalky crust) on basement walls. That’s mineral residue left by water moving through the masonry. The wall gets wet sometimes, even if it’s dry the day you look.

05Who writes the report

About 30 to 35 states require home inspectors to hold a state license, and the training and exam rules vary a lot from state to state. Some states, including Colorado, Georgia and Michigan, have no statewide license, so anyone can call themselves a home inspector there. In those states, membership in ASHI or InterNACHI is the main credential to look for. Check your state’s rules before you hire anyone.

Before you book, ask for a sample report. If it’s all checkboxes and no photos, find someone else. A good report shows you each problem, says where it is, and tells you who should look at it next.

06What it costs and when you get it

As of October 2026, HomeAdvisor puts the national average for a general home inspection at about $344, with most buyers paying between roughly $300 and $425. Big houses, older homes, and crawl spaces push the price up. Add-ons like radon or sewer scope cost extra, often a few hundred dollars each. Most inspectors send the report within a day or two, and many hand you a draft or walk you through the main findings before they leave.

Go to the inspection if you can. Seeing the corroded pipe or the crack in person makes the report much easier to understand, and you can ask questions as you walk.

07Buyers vs. sellers

If you’re buying, the report is your basis for a repair request, a price cut, a closing credit, or walking away if your contract has an inspection contingency. Ask for credits on big items rather than seller repairs when you can, so you pick the contractor.

If you’re selling, a pre-listing inspection shows you what a buyer’s inspector will find before you’re under contract and short on time. You can fix the cheap items, price around the expensive ones, and avoid a deal falling apart in week two. Whether a pre-listing inspection is worth it for your sale depends on the house and the market. Note that some states require sellers to disclose known defects, and a report you’ve read counts as known. Check your state’s disclosure rules.

08Your report checklist

• Read the summary first, then the limitations section.
• Mark every safety item and every item tagged for a specialist.
• Book those specialists (electrician, roofer, structural engineer, sewer scope) right away. Inspection contingencies often last only a week or two.
• Confirm radon, termite, and any well or septic tests were done or ordered.
• Get written quotes for the big-money items before you send the seller a request.
• Keep the report. It doubles as a maintenance list for your first year in the house.

Related: Buying in a Buyer's Market: Using the Inspection to Negotiate