Home Inspection Checklist: The 12 Systems Every Buyer's Inspector Checks
Published by Cash Flow Deals · Last updated 2026-07-22 · Reviewed by Camilo Palacio, Licensed Florida Real Estate Professional (License #3280644, REALTOR®), affiliated with Silver Door Realty, LLC (License #CQ1064903)
A standard home inspection covers about a dozen systems - foundation, roof and attic, exterior drainage, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, interior rooms, kitchen appliances, bathrooms, basement or crawlspace, and safety devices - in a 2-to-4-hour visit that averages about $343 nationally. Sellers who'd rather not fund repairs off that report have another option: Cash Flow Deals locks in a net price before the inspection happens. The written report arrives within 24 to 48 hours, and the buyer typically has 5 to 10 days from offer acceptance to request repairs, ask for credits at closing, or cancel based on what it finds.
| Cash Flow Deals | Traditional Listing | |
|---|---|---|
| Timeline | Net price locked before the inspection report exists; written agreement follows within 24 to 48 hours | Closing date can shift after the report - buyer has 5 to 10 days to request repairs, credits, or cancel |
| Repairs | Only structural findings (foundation, moisture, wiring, drain) get re-costed with you directly - everything else on the checklist is already priced in | Every flagged item on the 12-system checklist becomes a separate repair negotiation |
| Fees/Costs | No inspection bill to budget for - net price is locked before that cost ever enters the picture | Inspection averages $343 nationally, plus separately billed specialty checks like radon ($100-$250) and septic ($300-$600) |
What's on the checklist, system by system
An inspector works through roughly a dozen systems in a set order. Structure and foundation come first: cracks in basement walls and support beams, signs of settling, and patched repairs with no documentation. Then the roof and attic - missing or curled shingles, flashing and downspouts, insulation depth, water stains, ventilation. Exterior drainage gets its own pass: the ground should slope away from the house, and gutters should discharge water at least three feet from the foundation. Inside, the checklist runs through the electrical panel (GFCI protection in kitchens and bathrooms, any knob-and-tube wiring), plumbing supply and drain lines, the water heater's age, heating and cooling equipment, floors and windows, built-in appliances, bathroom ventilation and grout, the basement or crawlspace, and safety devices like smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.
Per Opendoor's buyer checklist, the whole visit runs 2 to 4 hours, the written report lands within 24 to 48 hours, and the national average cost is about $343 - most buyers pay $300 to $500, with a condo under 1,000 square feet coming in near $200 and a home over 2,000 square feet at $400 or more. What the standard inspection does NOT cover matters just as much: termites, sewer lines, septic systems, radon, mold, pools, chimneys, and anything behind walls all require separate specialists billed separately. A sewer scope alone runs $150 to $300; a septic evaluation runs $300 to $600.
The $5,166 reason buyers rarely skip the checklist
In competitive markets, some buyers strip the inspection contingency from their offer to stand out. Opendoor's guidance calls waiving both the contingency and the inspection itself the riskiest move a buyer can make - and the numbers explain why. Foundation repairs average $5,166, a heating and cooling system past the 15-to-20-year mark is at end of life, and none of that is visible at a showing.
For sellers, the same math runs in reverse. A buyer who keeps the contingency typically has 5 to 10 days from offer acceptance to act on the report, and three levers once it comes back: ask you to make repairs, ask for credits at closing, or cancel the contract and keep their earnest money. Most sellers expect some negotiation after an inspection. What surprises them is that the report functions as the buyer's negotiation script - item by item, with a dollar figure attached to each line.
If your house wouldn't pass the checklist clean
Run the list honestly against your own house before you sell. If the roof, the panel, or the HVAC would draw flags - and you don't want to spend the contingency window fielding repair requests or re-listing after a canceled contract - there is a second path. Cash Flow Deals is a Florida real estate investor that connects homeowners directly to vetted FHA, conventional, VA, and DSCR buyers through a novation agreement. Those buyers are screened for financing before the inspection stage, and Cash Flow Deals coordinates the repair conversation instead of leaving it between you and a stranger's inspector. Listing-side details run through Silver Door Realty, a licensed Florida brokerage. One honest caveat, stated up front: major structural findings - foundation, moisture, wiring, or drain issues - do get re-costed, and the decision on how to proceed stays with you. For everything else on the checklist, you skip the report-repair-credit-repeat cycle, and the list above becomes a planning document instead of a threat.
Cash Flow Deals is a Florida real estate investor that locks in a net price for a seller's house before repairs are scoped, using a novation-based, flat-fee process arranged through its licensed FL brokerage partner, Silver Door Realty — not a traditional listing, and not a brokerage itself.
Here's what that looks like in practice with Cash Flow Deals:
1. Cash Flow Deals reviews your house against the checklist above with you and locks in a net price before any inspection report exists to negotiate against.
2. If a buyer's inspector later flags a structural item - foundation, moisture, wiring, or drain issues - that gets re-costed with you directly, on your terms, instead of through a stranger's repair request.
3. The written agreement follows within 24 to 48 hours - the same window a standard inspection report takes to arrive - except this one doesn't reset your closing date.
Common questions
How much does a home inspection cost?
About $343 nationally on average, with most buyers paying $300 to $500. Size moves the number: a condo or home under 1,000 square feet can come in near $200, while a home over 2,000 square feet often runs $400 or more. Specialty checks are billed on top - radon runs $100 to $250, termite $75 to $150, a pool $200 to $400, and a re-inspection $100 to $200.
As a seller, do I have to fix everything the inspector flags?
No. The report gives the buyer three options during their contingency window, typically 5 to 10 days: request repairs, request credits at closing, or cancel. Credits are often the easier negotiation because you don't have to coordinate contractors, and buyers are usually told to focus on safety concerns and major system failures rather than cosmetic items. Sellers who don't want to fund repairs at all can also work with an investor model where financing-vetted buyers are lined up before the inspection stage.
Keep reading
What this means for your options
Every path to selling a house has real tradeoffs. Cash Flow Deals is built for the middle: faster than a traditional listing, more money than a cash investor.
Wait and see
Keep the property as-is and hope conditions improve. The mortgage, insurance, and upkeep keep costing money while you wait, with no set date for things to turn around.
List with a traditional agent
Standard MLS listing, typically 5-6% in commission, and a financed buyer whose deal depends on appraisal, inspection, and lender approval — any of which can fall through after weeks on market.
Sell to Cash Flow Deals
No repairs, no showings, no financing contingency on your side — our novation structure connects you with a bank-financed buyer at a price locked at signing. Usually within one business day.
See your selling options before you decide anything.