What Does a VA Home Inspection Look For: Buyer’s Checklist
What does a VA home inspection look for? The technical answer is everything covered under ASHI or InterNACHI Standards of Practice — structure, roof, exterior, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, interior, insulation, ventilation, appliances. But that’s the inspector’s checklist, not yours. This guide flips the perspective: it’s the BUYER’S checklist of what to ensure the inspector actually examines on a VA-loan property, including items inspectors sometimes skip, gloss over, or treat as outside scope. The goal is to make sure the inspection delivers the information you need to decide whether to close on the property.
The buyer’s mindset: what you need to verify
A home inspector follows a standardized scope of practice. They visit hundreds of homes. They develop habits — useful habits, but habits that can miss the specific concerns a particular buyer has. The buyer who walks the inspection passively, accepting the inspector’s automatic priorities, gets a competent generic inspection. The buyer who comes prepared with their own list and asks the inspector to specifically address it gets a more useful inspection.
This is not about second-guessing the inspector. It’s about ensuring the inspection addresses the issues YOU care about, not just the issues the inspector’s checklist defaults to covering. Anchor the broader hiring process against the hiring a home inspector guide.
Structural and foundation: ensure they go beneath the visible
The inspector will note any obvious structural issues visible from the interior and exterior: cracking, settlement, bowing walls. Ensure they also do the following.
Enter the crawl space if one exists. Crawl spaces hide moisture damage, sagging joists, pest activity, and inadequate ventilation. A crawl space inspection requires the inspector to actually crawl into it with a flashlight and look at the joists, sill plates, posts, and ground conditions. Some inspectors look from the access hatch and decline to enter. Insist they enter unless physically impossible.
Examine the foundation from outside, all four sides, looking for cracks, water staining, and grade-to-foundation slope. Per ICC code references, exterior grade should slope away from the foundation at minimum 6 inches in 10 feet to prevent water infiltration.
Note any sister-joists or older repairs in the basement or crawl space. Previous structural repairs indicate previous structural problems. The inspector should describe what they see and recommend follow-up by a structural engineer if anything looks marginal.
Roof: insist on walk-on inspection when safe
The inspector should walk the roof when conditions allow — dry weather, accessible pitch, no excessive height for safety. Insist they actually walk it. A roof inspection from the ground or from a ladder leaning against the gutter misses about half of what a walk-on inspection catches.
If walking is unsafe, the inspector should explicitly note that and recommend a follow-up roof inspection by a roofing contractor. “Inspected from ground level only” is a real limitation the buyer needs to understand.
Items the buyer should ask about specifically: shingle age (typically determinable from condition and granule loss), evidence of multiple layers (illegal in most jurisdictions, signals previous quick fix), flashing condition around penetrations, gutter and downspout integrity, attic ventilation adequacy.
HVAC: insist on operational testing
The inspector should run the heating system and the air conditioning system, both. Ensure they actually do this. Some inspectors visually inspect HVAC equipment without operating it, which misses problems that only show during operation.
The inspector should report system age, indication of last service, any unusual sounds during operation, and visible signs of leaks or corrosion. Per ASHI Standards of Practice, the inspector evaluates apparent condition but is not certified to evaluate HVAC performance to engineering tolerances. For homes with HVAC concerns, a follow-up by a licensed HVAC contractor is warranted.
Air filters: the inspector should check the air filter and note its condition. A heavily soiled filter indicates inadequate maintenance and possible reduced system efficiency. The DOE heating and cooling page covers expected service intervals for residential HVAC equipment.
Electrical: panel and outlet testing
The inspector should open the electrical panel and visually inspect for obvious issues: double-tapped breakers, aluminum wiring, federal-pacific or zinsco panels (both known fire hazards in older homes), evidence of water intrusion, missing or improper grounding.
The inspector should test a representative sample of outlets with a three-prong tester to confirm proper wiring and ground-fault protection (GFCI) where required by code — bathroom, kitchen, exterior, garage, and basement outlets. Insist they actually test multiple outlets, not just one near the front door.
Per ICC electrical code references, GFCI requirements have evolved over the decades, and older homes commonly have grandfathered outlets that no longer meet current code. The inspector should note this without insisting on retrofit.
Plumbing: leak signs and water pressure
The inspector should run all major plumbing fixtures simultaneously to test water pressure under load, look for visible leaks under sinks and around toilets, examine the water heater for age and condition, and verify the main water shutoff valve is accessible and operational.
For homes with a known or suspected sewer line issue, request a sewer scope add-on. Sewer scopes are not part of a standard home inspection and cost $150-$300 additional. Per sewer scope inspection guidance, the camera reveals root intrusion, pipe collapse, and Orangeburg-pipe issues that the standard inspection cannot detect.
Insulation and ventilation: attic walk-through
The inspector should enter the attic when accessible and examine insulation depth, evenness, and condition; ventilation adequacy (soffit and ridge vents working together); evidence of moisture, mold, or pest activity; and proper sealing around electrical penetrations and recessed lights.
Attics that the inspector does not enter — usually due to access limitations or hazards — should be explicitly noted as such. “Limited attic inspection due to inadequate access” is a real limitation. The buyer should consider whether to require attic access creation before closing.
VA-specific items: MPR overlap
The VA appraiser separately verifies Minimum Property Requirements. The home inspector covers everything the MPRs cover plus a lot more, but the buyer should ensure the inspector explicitly addresses the MPR-relevant items: roof condition, foundation soundness, safe water source, sanitary sewage, weather-tight walls, working mechanicals, and absence of obvious hazards.
If the inspector identifies MPR-relevant issues, the buyer should understand that these issues may also trigger appraisal requirements, creating a coordination opportunity. Per the HUD home inspection consumer brochure, property-condition failures generally must be remedied before closing under federally backed loans.
Items inspectors often skip — push back
Pest activity inspection: some inspectors note visible pest evidence; others claim it’s outside scope. Ask whether they look for active termite, carpenter ant, or rodent activity. If they explicitly exclude pest inspection, add a separate termite inspection from a licensed pest professional.
Mold visible in walls or ceilings: the inspector should note any obvious visible mold and recommend professional mold testing if needed. Mold testing is not a standard inspection service — it requires air sampling and laboratory analysis.
Radon testing: not part of a standard inspection in most markets. For Colorado Front Range properties in EPA Zone 1, per CDPHE radon resources, radon testing should be added as a separate service ($125-$200 typical add-on).
How to use the inspection report
The report is your decision tool. Read it cover to cover. Note items the inspector flagged as “significant” or “major.” Use those items to negotiate price reductions, request seller repairs, or — if severe — withdraw from the contract under the inspection contingency.
Per FTC consumer guidance on buying a home, the inspection report is the buyer’s primary decision document for a property purchase. Treat it that way. The few hours spent reading the report carefully are some of the highest-leverage hours in the entire transaction.
The walk-through approach: shadow the inspector
The single highest-value thing a buyer can do during the inspection is be present and walk through the property with the inspector. Most inspectors welcome this; a few prefer to work alone and present findings afterward. Either way, ask to be on-site.
What to do during the walk-through:
Take notes about specific concerns to revisit. The buyer who walks past the basement and thinks “I should ask about that water stain” should write it down so it gets addressed.
Ask clarifying questions. If the inspector mentions an issue and the buyer doesn’t understand the severity, ask. The inspector should be able to translate technical findings into homeowner-relevant context.
Photograph specific items of concern for personal records. The inspector’s report will have photos, but the buyer’s own photos provide independent reference.
Ask about ages of major systems. Roof age, HVAC age, water heater age, plumbing system age. These don’t always show up in standard reports but matter heavily for ownership cost planning.
Ask about local quirks. An inspector familiar with the metro market knows the typical construction issues for the era and neighborhood. Drawing out that context is valuable.
Documenting the inspection for future use
The inspection report becomes part of the property’s record for the buyer’s ownership. Keep the original PDF in cloud storage. Print a hardcopy for quick reference. Reference the report when scheduling maintenance, planning improvements, or selling the property later.
For renovation planning, the inspection report identifies issues the buyer should address either before or as part of any renovation work. A buyer planning a kitchen remodel six months after closing benefits from the inspection’s electrical and plumbing notes for that area.
What the buyer should NOT do
Skip the report read. The inspection report is the deliverable. Reading it carefully is non-negotiable.
Take the inspection contingency for granted. The contingency window is the buyer’s leverage. Use it to negotiate or withdraw if findings warrant.
Accept seller pushback without independent verification. If the seller pushes back on a finding (“the inspector is wrong”), get a second opinion from the relevant specialist (electrician, plumber, structural engineer, etc.) rather than accepting the seller’s claim.
Treat the inspection as a deal-killer search. The inspection’s purpose is to inform decisions, not to find reasons to walk away. Most inspections surface manageable issues, not deal-killing problems.
Comparing inspectors before hiring
Per the ASHI member directory, multiple certified inspectors typically serve any given metro market. Comparing two or three before hiring is sensible. Look at sample reports, ask how long they spend on average inspections, verify insurance, and read recent reviews specific to inspector quality (not just the company brand).
Cost differences between inspectors of similar quality are usually under 20 percent. The cheapest inspector is rarely the best value; the most expensive isn’t necessarily better either. A mid-priced inspector with strong credentials and reviews typically delivers the best balance.
The bottom line
What a VA home inspection looks for is what any good home inspection looks for: every major system, every visible defect, every condition issue that affects ownership cost. The buyer’s job is to ensure the inspector actually examines those things rather than skipping or skimming. Come prepared with this checklist. Walk the inspection actively. Ask questions. The result is a far more useful inspection than passive observation produces.
References
- ASHI Standards of Practice — ASHI
- InterNACHI Standards of Practice — InterNACHI
- HUD home inspection consumer brochure — HUD
- Colorado radon program — CDPHE
- FTC consumer guidance on buying a home — Consumer.FTC.gov
Front Range buyers using VA financing can find a vetted inspector through our network — one who walks the roof, enters the crawl space, and produces a report you can actually use for negotiation.