inspection update

You never want to hear your inspector say, "Well, I wasn't expecting THAT. That's interesting..."

The inspection went well. I knew the house would have some issues, but in other areas, I was pleasantly surprised. I'll list more bad than good, but that's just because I'm ranking projects in order of importance in my mind for repairs. I plan to do most of the repairs myself.

Bad:

• The roof is nearing the end of its useful life. Solution: New roof. It's a small house, so it will be a small project. DIY
• The windows are original, single-pane. But the frames don't show any sign of water damage, and there's only 7 or 8 windows in the house. DIY
• The furnace is older. The seller is giving me a one-year warranty, which will cover any issues until next summer, but then I will need to think about replacing it. I'm hoping that the Weatherization program will do that for me.
• The yard has some elevated spots that drain toward the house. Solution: Re-grade the yard to slope away from the house. DIY if I can get a friend with the proper equipment to help me. I'm not regrading the yard with a shovel.
• There could always be more insulation. I've got about 8" of blown-in vermiculite in the attic. I could get someone to put more up there. The foundation is insulated on the outside, but I can crawl under the house and hang more insulation down there.
• The shower and tub are funky. There's only one knob, and the tub is small. I plan to rip out the tub, possibly push the wall back, and tile it as a shower only. DIY
• Some of the plumbing is the original steel pipes. At some point I'll want to replace that. DIY
• The plumbing vent stack opens into the attic. There's a roof vent right above it, but it doesn't actually go through the roof. The seller should fix this before we close.

Good:

• The foundation is in great shape. No cracks or settling. It's solidly built on concrete blocks, and the garage is on a concrete slab.
  
• The wiring is really good. It's been upgraded since the house was built and it was done properly. I need one GFCI outlet in the kitchen.
• The electrical supply to the garage was done properly and is buried wire. The heating system for the garage is also in good shape.
• The roof may need help, but the rafters looked good from inside the attic.
• No signs of mold in the house.
  

All in all, the inspector pronounced it a good little house. Next up: Bringing the bank a ton of paperwork.