For our fourth venture into home inspections, we continue our conversation with Mark Linebaugh, president of Homemark Inc., and will address the sometimes lesser-seen but often felt issues with heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.
If you’re selling your home, it’s a good idea to have your HVAC systems serviced and cleaned. It’s a tremendously common area in which an inspector is going to point out problems and/or concerns. When you’re buying, it’s always best to have a professional check out the details of the HVAC system, but some indications of neglect are evident for even the layman.
As for Mark’s approach, he said he looks for, “loose, missing, dirty or wrong sized furnace filters, dirty air handlers, evidence of deferred maintenance, humidifiers that are leaking or don’t work at all, condensate leaks, inoperable condensate pumps [and] missing insulation at the compressor’s line,” he said.
Mark added that he’s also going to check for, “compressors out of level, loose, not working properly or totally inoperable thermostats, inoperable electric furnace heating elements [and] loose, damaged or missing registers or cold air returns.” Other issues that can arise are improperly tapered, stacked or unsafe flues and systems that simply don’t heat or cool properly.
Remember, a home inspection gives buyers peace of mind—and often points out items that might need a fix or maintenance—but it also can serve sellers and ensure they’ve taken proper care of the home for which they’ll always be looking for top dollar.
You can reach Mark Linebaugh at: (703) 537-0323 or by email.
Don’t miss Part 5 of our home inspection series where we address plumbing issues.
Here are Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 if you missed them!
