Common Home Inspection Issues

Common Home Inspection Issues: What Buyers Should Look For

Buying a home is exciting, but overlooking inspection issues can lead to costly surprises. Therefore, understanding and identifying common safety and structural issues in homes helps buyers make informed decisions and avoid unnecessary risks.

Understanding Common Home Inspection Issues

Roof Problems

Tile roofs often suffer cracked or missing tiles, while metal sheeting corrodes in coastal areas. Flat roofs frequently develop leaks due to failed waterproofing membranes. As a result, these problems can cause damp ceilings, mould, and structural damage, all of which are among the common safety issues flagged during inspections.

Structural Cracks & Movement

South Africa’s expansive clay soils often lead to foundation movement. Moreover, cracks in load‑bearing walls or uneven floors signal potential structural instability—serious safety issues common in many inspections. In the long run, ignoring these signs may result in costly engineering interventions.

Damp & Water Damage

Heavy rainfall and poor drainage systems contribute to rising damp and mould growth. In particular, common safety issues discovered, such as hidden water leaks, are often in these scenarios. Thus, damp patches behind plaster or ceilings weaken structures and create health hazards for occupants.

Electrical Hazards

Common electrical safety issues encountered during inspections are outdated wiring, overloaded circuits, and missing earth leakage protection. As a result, these electrical faults pose fire risks and increase the chance of electrocution. Therefore, compliance with SANS 10142‑1: The wiring of premises – Part 1: Low-voltage installations is essential.

Plumbing Issues

Leaking water and waste pipes, corroded fittings, and blocked drains are frequent findings. Notably, plumbing defects such as these are classified as defects during property inspections. The resulting water damage from plumbing defects can compromise finishes and encourage mould growth.

Poor Waterproofing/Damp‑Proofing

Older homes often lack proper damp‑proof courses. While sometimes overlooked, failed waterproofing often presents common safety issues related to structural decay. Failed waterproofing allows moisture to rise through walls, causing peeling paint, structural decay, and persistent odours.

Poor Drainage

Blocked gutters and downpipes, and inadequate stormwater systems lead to foundation damage and erosion. In addition, inadequate drainage is a common safety issue because it endangers both health and the home’s structure. Effective drainage away from the house walls prevents rising damp and protects structural integrity.

Poor Ventilation & Insulation

Insufficient airflow and missing insulation encourage mould and energy inefficiency. Among the most overlooked common safety issues are poor ventilation and its related health effects. Consequently, proper ventilation reduces condensation and improves indoor air quality.

Hazardous Materials

Asbestos roofing, lead‑based paint, and hidden mould remain serious concerns. Importantly, hazardous materials like these are classic examples of common safety issues in residential properties. In older houses, these materials pose long‑term health risks and require professional removal.

Poor Maintenance & DIY Repair

Unprofessional fixes and shortcuts often mask deeper problems. Ultimately, poor DIY repair can contribute to property damage that is expensive to rectify after purchase. DIY repairs may reduce property value and create hidden safety hazards.

Preventive Measures Before the Inspection

Buyers should prepare by researching common safety issues in homes and hiring qualified home inspectors. Carrying a checklist ensures visible defects are documented. Using moisture meters or thermal imaging helps uncover hidden problems. Preventive awareness reduces surprises during negotiations.

Handling Issues When Discovered

When inspection issues are identified, especially common safety issues, buyers should request repair estimates and negotiate accordingly. Minor defects can be addressed before transfer, while major hazards may require professional intervention. Transitioning from discovery to action ensures risks are managed effectively.

The Consequences of Ignoring Inspections

Ignoring inspections can lead to escalating repair costs, health hazards, and reduced property value. Failure to address common safety issues such as structural failures, electrical fires, and persistent damp is not only expensive but also dangerous. Buyers who neglect inspections often face disputes, insurance complications, and long‑term financial strain.

Conclusion

Understanding common safety issues in homes empowers buyers to make informed choices. Roof problems, damp, electrical hazards, and poor maintenance are not just cosmetic concerns; they directly affect safety and value. Preventive measures, professional inspections, and proactive handling of defects protect both investment and wellbeing.

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THE HOME DETECTIVE » Homebuyer » Common defects

24/04/202028/08/2024

Seller Tricks

10 Most Common Seller Tricks

sellers tricks and issues — The photo was taken of one of the seller tricks! Sellers try to hide issues under scatter mats!

Unfortunately, it can be difficult when unscrupulous sellers use tricks to hide defects. Here are the 10 most common seller tricks, and how you can recognise each one of the issues.

A home may be the biggest purchase you’ll ever make. So it makes sense to do everything possible to ensure you’re making a sound investment.

Painting over problem areas.

Fresh paint itself is not a sign of dishonesty, but it can be used to cover water stains, mould and more. Many honest sellers use paint to update or freshen up walls. Take note if many areas were recently painted and mention that to the home inspector. You can also ask the seller for before-and-after photos.

Choosing to remain in the dark about potential problems are seller tricks.

By law, a seller cannot be held liable for problems he or she didn’t know about. Thus, a seller trick is not to allow home inspections to be performed when it’s time to sell. Another seller trick is not to agree to a reasonable inspection contingency time period. Some will even tell potential buyers they don’t want to know what the home inspection reveals. This is all the more reason to get a thorough home inspection. It’s a small price to pay to ensure you’re making a sound investment.

28/04/201928/08/2024

Plants Growing against Your House.

The Danger of Creeper Plants Growing Against Your House

A while back, I inspected a house in an older part of Johannesburg. From the road, the house was very pretty with an ivy creeper growing on the house and boundary walls. However, having plants winding their way up your outside walls can cause actual damage to your house. Therefore, you should think twice before allowing creepers to grow on any wall in the first place.

The best advice is not to have any gardens within 1 metre of your home! Watering gardens against your home can cause uneven settlement of the foundation and cracks in your house.

The worst plants to plant against your house are destructive plants known as “self-clingers”.

Self-clinging creepers

Self-clinger creeper’s rootlets go into existing fine cracks and fissures, using them to enhance adhesion and occasionally penetrating the interiors of buildings through them. The mortar between bricks can be loosened through this activity and is often torn away from the wall when a creeper is removed. The same strong adhesion can result in chunks of plasterwork being pulled away, and attached to the creeper vines.

In addition, on roof structures, creeper tendrils and rootlets can work their way under roof tiles and other roofing materials. Unless you remove the creeper maintenance, like painting and roof repairs, is impossible.

Moreover, any plants and shrubs with their foliage against your home may even dislodge gutters and roof tiles and can hold damaging moisture against wall surfaces causing moisture to penetrate the wall and roof structure of your home.

Some articles and posts claim not all climbing plants are bad for your house and some can provide “genuine benefits”. However, the detrimental effect of having these climbers on your walls far outweighs any benefits they may have. Moreover, some climbing plants are very aggressive in the way they attach themselves to your walls and, if left unchecked, can cause serious structural problems.

Which creepers to avoid?

Ivy is a prime example. The sort of plants to avoid having grown up on your wall is often the ones that have “suckers” or little mini branches like spikes, that burrow under the paint into the plastered walls and into the mortar joints of the face brick walls for a foothold.

23/01/201902/12/2025

Efflorescence

WHAT ARE THOSE POWDERY WHITE AREAS ON MY BRICK WALLS?

Efflorescence is an eyesore! This is the presence of the white powder that forms on the face or surface of concrete, plasterwork and brickwork indicating moisture in the wall. Blooming or flowering are other names for efflorescence.

It is a cause for concern!

Efflorescence is a build-up of minerals and salts staining the surface of the concrete, brick and plasterwork due to repeated bouts of excess water in the material. The minerals and salts that naturally occur in the material are dissolved when the brickwork, plasterwork or concrete is waterlogged indicating moisture in the wall.

Concrete, pavers, brickwork and plasterwork are porous and can absorb or wick water and draw salts to it like a tree transports water from its roots to its leaves. This is capillary action. When efflorescence or blooming happens, it can indicate a moisture issue that could potentially damage the structure.

When water reaches a building material’s surface, evaporation will occur. Water absorption and wicking will continue after the water evaporates and the salt is left behind looking like flowering or blooming. This eventually creates a high salt concentration, leading to osmosis.

What is Osmosis

Simply put, osmosis in building materials is the movement of water from a region of low salt concentration to a region of high salt concentration in the material.

During osmosis, water moves toward salts and minerals to reduce its concentration. It can cause large hydrostatic pressures within the porous building material. As a result, these pressures can damage or destroy the material.

Osmosis can cause pressure that ranges up to 200 bar, exceeding the structural strength of concrete or brickwork. As a result, osmosis may result in porous building material staining, cracking, flaking or falling apart.

Walkthrough Inspections

walkthrough inspection without a written report

Walkthrough Inspections are comprehensive inspections without a written report but with a checklist. A Walkthrough Inspection is for clients who require the physical inspection but don’t need a detailed report.

Usually, their reasons are one of the following:

Sometimes homebuyers don’t want or need a comprehensive inspection and report of the property they want to buy because they are on a tight budget.
Clients sometimes shortlist interesting homes. All they require, at this point, is the walkthrough inspection assurance that there is not something seriously wrong with one or more of the shortlisted houses before committing to signing an “Offer to Purchase” and having a home inspection.
Because of circumstances, some buyers will need an inspection of a house they found on the internet. In this instance, they need the assurance that the house they are interested in is worth the effort to inspect for themselves. Obviously, on these occasions, they are either too busy or have to travel some distance to view the house.
Other clients have done their inspection of the house. However, requires only the assurance that there are no serious and/or expensive defects or maintenance issues.

For example, I’ve had times when clients have contacted me from far away places, like Cape Town, to give them an idea of the condition of a house in Randburg.

In these instances, this type of inspection is handy and ideal for those clients.

Furthermore, a Walkthrough Inspection fee is normally half that of a Comprehensive Inspection.

This type of inspection is informal

However, a walkthrough inspection is not a formal home inspection. It is an informal inspection. As a result, I perform a visual walkthrough inspection of the home and provide you with a checklist summarising my observations. Furthermore, my comments will be nothing more than a subjective summary of my initial observations during the walk-through.

What is involved in a walkthrough inspection?

The walkthrough requires the same time as a comprehensive inspection. On average, this is about 1½ to 3 hours depending on the condition of the property. You can ask questions and take notes while I explain the defects.

Because a walkthrough is less formal, I do not adhere to the InterNACHI Standards of Practice which requires me to produce a written report with photos. If you are present at the walkthrough, I do not generate a written report but provide a checklist. I communicate my observations orally to you. You can make your own notes during the inspection. In this way, you save time and money because there is no written report to produce after the inspection.

However, if you can’t attend the walkthrough, I will communicate my observations to you in the form of a checklist.

In addition, because it is an informal inspection, an inspection of this type is also very affordable!

However, you will need to sign an InterNACHI Walk-Though Inspection Agreement before the walkthrough. This is to protect me against liability as a result of deviating from the requirements of the InterNACHI Standards of Practice for Home Inspections by not producing a formal report.

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Inspected Once, Inspected Right!®

SEE WHERE I INSPECT IN GAUTENG!

THE HOME DETECTIVE » Homebuyer » Common defects