Knowledge topic · 11 approved guides

Inspect Houses

Structural risk, physical systems, and the pre-purchase checks that keep a project from becoming a money pit.

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Approved library

Guides about inspect houses

01 Article 7 House Flipping Nightmares (and How to Avoid Them) Seven categories of expensive surprises that have cost me or people I know six-figure sums, plus the warning signs I look for. 02 Article Critical Plumbing Issues: Understanding Floor Joist Safety A field reaction to severely cut floor joists, with the limits of what could be concluded from the video. 03 Article How Water Creates Foundation Cracks and Sloping Floors Ross traces water from the yard to the footings and shows how foundation movement creates sloping floors inside a house. 04 Article Fastest Way to Find Load Bearing Walls (General Contractor Explains) A simple process for spotting load-bearing walls from the attic and crawl space, plus the three ways to remove one and why the cheap way usually wins. 05 Article Give Me 30 Minutes and Become a House Structure Pro How water, pests, and bad workmanship damage a wood structure, plus the task breakdown I use against fear-tax bids. 06 Article HGTV Exposed by a General Contractor What house flippers on TV get right, what they get very wrong, and what a real flip looks like when you are watching the numbers instead of the camera. 07 Article How to Spot the Triple Threat, Mirage, and Big Six Before You Buy Use the Triple Threat, Mirage, and Big Six to find repair risk, hidden work, and large budget items before you settle on a price. 08 Article How I Break Down a Sewer-Line Estimate Ross explains the questions he asks to understand a sewer-line estimate without pretending every city or property works the same way. 09 Article Understanding Structural Damage: How to Spot It Before You Buy The three questions I ask about structural damage, the five common issues I look for, and the situations that make me walk away. 10 Article What Does the Inside of a House Look Like A walk behind the drywall through studs, headers, plumbing vents, HVAC trunks, fire blocking, nail plates, and insulation. 11 Article Why I Will Never Buy These Types of Houses Again Ross explains why he avoids the water-prone hillside house and the home with extensive hidden DIY work after both types caused costly problems.