Property inspection before purchase

[Libby Baugher]

I will be doing my first walkthroughs of possible rental properties to purchase within the next week. I would like to know What others think are the most important items to be checking when doing the initial walkthrough? They will be single family and duplexes. Also, are there checklists available that can be used as you walk through the properties? 

Thanks in advance! I appreciate all thoughts and suggestions!

Libby

[Larry Turowski]

@Libby Baugher I get all my properties professionally inspected after we strike a deal.  95% of the time it is a "waste of money," but 5% of the time they catch things I missed.  And that makes it worth it.

For your initial walk through you don't want to be spending a lot of time "inspecting" the property.  That would limit the amount of properties you have the time to look at.  Some things will jump out at you.  Some things you may miss.  So if you strike a deal, get it inspected.

Probably the most important things to look for, that will not be found on an inspection, are things that make the property less desirable.  Maybe the layout is weird.  Or the bedrooms are too small.  Or that you can't open the dishwasher and a certain drawer at the same time.  These are not defects, so they won't be found on an engineers inspection.   Look out for  those things.