How to triage an inspection report in 20 minutes

Start at the summary, not page one

Most modern inspection software prints a summary section — the inspector's own list of deficiencies, each pointing back to the page where they wrote it up. That list is the report's real content. The preceding pages are largely a record of what was checked and found acceptable.

If your report has one, read it first and read nothing else until you have. If it does not, you are reading the whole thing, and you should budget an hour rather than twenty minutes.

Sort by consequence, not by severity language

Inspectors vary enormously in how strongly they write. One will describe a failed seal as “deficient” in the same tone as an active roof leak. Ignore the adjectives and ask a single question of each item: what happens if I do nothing for six months?

That question sorts a report faster than any severity scale, because it maps directly onto the only decision you actually have — what to fix now, what to schedule, and what to budget for.

• Gets worse and damages something else: deal with it now.
• Gets worse slowly, contained: schedule it.
• Does not change, but will eventually need money: budget it.
• Unknown until someone looks: get the answer before your deadline.

Watch for the same defect written up four times

Water intrusion shows up in the roof section, the attic section, the interior ceiling section, and sometimes the exterior grading section. Four write-ups, one cause, one repair. Counting them as four problems distorts both your anxiety and your negotiation.

Conversely, one write-up can hide several repairs — “multiple windows show failed seals” is not one job.

Know your deadline before you start

In most contracts the window for acting on an inspection is short and fixed. In Texas the option period is commonly seven to ten days from execution; elsewhere the inspection contingency period plays the same role. Every decision above is scoped by that date, so establish it before you read anything.