Pre-owned Home - Rather than fix the leak in the air conditioner condenser in the crawlspace, the home owner installed a kiddy pool to catch the water.
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New Home - When the furnace was installed in the attic, the technician placed the owners manual on top of the burners creating a major fire hazard.
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All Homes - This new home had 6" of standing water in the crawlspace due to a clogged drain line. This problem is found in new as well as pre-owned homes and can cause foundation failure, mold and wood rot.
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New Home - A small piece of missing roof flashing lead to water in the ceiling, walls, carpet and floor (See next photo).
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New Home - This wet wall and floor was caused by a small piece of missing roof flashing (See above photo). After the flashing was replaced, the walls and had ceiling to be opened up to let them dry out and carpet had to be replaced to prevent mold and wood rot.
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Pre-owned Home - A common find in pre-owned homes are split plumbing vent boots on the roof which can lead to water in the attic, wood rot and mold. These rubber boots last only 5 - 10 years.
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All Homes - Uncovered electrical boxes are a common find in new as well as pre-owned homes. These create a electrical shock and fire hazard.
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All Homes - An improperly installed vent pipe on a gas on a water heater can cause carbon monoxide, an odorless & colorless gas that can kill, to enter a home.
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Pre-owned Home - The home owner did not know that a small crack in the base of a fireplace had caused a fire in the floor in front of the fireplace.
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All Homes - In an obscure area of a fairly new home we found the previous tenants had built a greenhouse for growing marijuana. By the time the authorities arrived a few days later, the greenhouse had been dismantaled.
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Pre-owned Home - During the building process, a nail had been driven through the outside wall, into the main electrical panel and had pierced the insulation on the 240 volt main supply for the house (note the burn mark on the back of the panel). Luckily no one was injured from this very dangerous situation.
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All Homes - When viewed for in the crawlspace, a small cut on the end of a floor joist had caused the floor above to sag, walls to crack and doors to stick.
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All Homes - Removing the side panel of a gaspack furnace revealed a rodent nest next to the air conditioning coils.
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Pre-owned Home - Although the crawlspace was dry at the time of the inspection a mud line on a support column was evidence of water intrusion. This water would have caused foundation settling, mold and wood rot. Re-directing an outside gutter fixed the problem.
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New Home - This support column missed touching the wooden floor beam above by at least one inch. This issue was missed by the local code inspector and could have caused floors to sag, walls to crack and doors and windows to stick.
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Member of the North Carolina Licensed Home Inspectors Association

Red Cross Disaster Assessment Volunteer