What a Home Inspection Is — and What It Is Not

We are asked some version of this every week: what exactly am I getting? It is a fair question, and the answer matters more than most buyers realize — because the gap between what people think an inspection is and what it actually is causes nearly every disagreement that follows.

So here it is plainly. Three words define a Texas home inspection: visual, accessible, and that day.

A home inspection is a visual, non-invasive evaluation of the readily accessible systems and components of a home, performed on a specific date, and delivered as a written report of the deficiencies observed.

In Texas, inspectors are licensed by the Texas Real Estate Commission and must follow the TREC Standards of Practice, set out in rules 22 TAC §§535.227–535.233. Those rules define the minimum an inspector must do on a one-to-four family dwelling. They also define, just as clearly, what an inspector is not required to do.

Reports are delivered on TREC's standard Property Inspection Report form (REI 7-6), which is why inspection reports in Texas look broadly similar from company to company. What varies is the thoroughness behind the form, the quality of documentation, and what the inspector adds beyond the minimum.

The Standards of Practice organize the inspection into these areas:

Structural systems (§535.228) — foundation, grading and drainage, roof covering, roof structure and attic, interior and exterior walls, ceilings and floors, doors, windows, stairways, fireplaces and chimneys, and porches, decks, balconies and carports.

Electrical systems (§535.229) — the service entrance and panels, branch circuits, connected devices and fixtures.

Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (§535.230) — heating equipment, cooling equipment, and duct systems with their vents and registers.

Plumbing systems (§535.231) — supply piping and fixtures, drains, wastes and vents, water heating equipment, hydro-massage equipment, and gas distribution systems.

Appliances (§535.232) — dishwasher, food waste disposer, range hood and exhaust systems, ranges, cooktops and ovens, microwave, mechanical exhaust and bathroom heaters, garage door operators, and dryer exhaust systems.

Optional systems (§535.233) — landscape irrigation, swimming pools and spas, and other systems that are inspected only when specifically contracted.

That is the floor, not the ceiling. On our inspections we also include infrared thermal imaging at no extra charge, walk every roof that can be safely walked and fly an FAA-licensed drone when it cannot, and document findings with photos and video rather than text alone.

This is the part worth reading twice.

It is not a code compliance inspection. Inspectors report deficiencies, not code violations. A home built to the code in effect in 1978 is not defective because the code changed in 2009.

Nothing is dismantled and nothing is destroyed. We do not open walls, pull up flooring, disassemble equipment beyond removing standard access panels, or perform destructive testing.

We do not move your belongings. Furniture, stored items, boxes in the garage, and anything blocking an access hatch stay where they are. What is behind them is not inspected.

We do not determine cause, repair method, or cost. The report says what was observed and that it needs evaluation or repair by a qualified contractor. Diagnosing why and pricing the fix is that contractor's work.

We do not predict remaining life. We can tell you a water heater is twelve years old. Nobody can tell you how long it has left.

We do not test for environmental hazards — mold, asbestos, lead, radon, methamphetamine residue — unless separately contracted and licensed for it.

Termites are a separate license. A wood-destroying insect inspection is performed under structural pest control licensing, which is why our WDI inspections are performed under TPCL License #0961609 through our partner company, Victory Pest Management LLC, and are available for Texas properties only.

We do not perform engineering evaluations. An inspector documents evidence of foundation movement. A licensed structural engineer determines whether it is active and what should be done. See our foundation evaluation page for how that works.

We do not inspect what we cannot reach or see — inside walls, under slabs, beneath insulation, behind finished surfaces, or anything off the property.

It is not an appraisal and it does not establish value or insurability.

The standards apply to what is readily accessible, and on a real house that phrase has consequences:
• An attic hatch blocked by storage is an attic that is not fully inspected.
• A garage packed to the ceiling limits what can be seen of walls, outlets, and the water heater.
• A locked room is an uninspected room.
• Utilities shut off mean systems that cannot be operated. We do not turn on gas or restore power that has been disconnected.
• A roof that cannot be walked safely gets inspected from a drone or from the eaves instead.
• Weather matters. Air conditioning cannot be meaningfully tested below certain outdoor temperatures without risking damage to the equipment.

Anything limited this way is noted in the report. If a major system was inaccessible on inspection day, that is worth following up on before your option period closes.

This is the single most important thing to understand, and it is where expectations most often go wrong.

The report describes conditions observed at the property on the date and time of the inspection. That is the entire scope. It is not a guarantee of future performance, not a warranty, and not insurance.

A furnace that cycled correctly on a Tuesday morning can fail Thursday night. A roof that showed no active leak in dry weather can leak in the first driving rain. A compressor that ran fine at 70 degrees can struggle at 104. Mechanical and electrical components fail without warning, and nothing about having been inspected changes that.

Some conditions are genuinely intermittent and will not appear during an inspection: a leak that only shows under wind-driven rain, a drain that only backs up under heavy simultaneous use, an electrical fault that only trips under load. Others are concealed by design — a defect behind drywall, under a slab, beneath new flooring.

Some defects only appear with use over time. A shower pan, a tub surround, or a toilet seal can perform normally during an inspection and begin leaking weeks later, once it has been wetted and dried hundreds of times by a family living in the house. We run water, we check fixtures, we look and feel for evidence of moisture, and on every inspection we also use infrared thermal imaging and a moisture meter to find what the eye cannot. But a seal that fails under cumulative use is not detectable in the three to five hours an inspector is on site, because on that day it is not leaking. Conditions like that are latent — concealed or not yet manifested — and they fall outside the scope of a visual inspection as defined by the standards and by the Inspection Agreement you sign before the inspection.

Roofs work the same way, and they are the other common dispute. A roof is evaluated for the conditions visible on inspection day, in that day's weather. Many roof leaks appear only under specific conditions: wind-driven rain from one direction, a long soaking rain rather than a short one, or a monsoon storm that clogs a scupper and backs water up behind a parapet. A roof with no active leak and no staining at the time of inspection can still leak in the first hard rain after closing, and that does not mean the condition was missed. We walk every roof that can be safely walked and fly an FAA-licensed drone when it cannot, but we do not lift shingles or tiles, remove flashing, or flood-test a roof — and on tile roofs the underlayment, which is usually what fails first in El Paso, is concealed beneath the tile and cannot be assessed from the surface. What an inspection gives you is an informed assessment of the roof's condition, age, and visible defects. It does not give you a guarantee that it will not leak. For more on what we actually evaluate, see El Paso Roof Inspection and Parapet Walls and Scuppers.

This is not fine print to protect inspectors. It is a description of what a visual inspection on one day can and cannot establish. An inspection dramatically reduces your risk of being surprised. It does not eliminate it, and no inspector who tells you otherwise is being straight with you.

Buyer's inspections from Inspector Pros include two InterNACHI programs. Both are worth understanding precisely, because neither is a warranty issued by us.

The InterNACHI Buy-Back Guarantee. If an InterNACHI-certified inspector misses something that should have been identified under InterNACHI's Standards of Practice, InterNACHI will buy the home back at the original purchase price. The program is offered and administered by InterNACHI, not by Inspector Pros, and it is subject to their eligibility rules, timeframes, and terms. Full details are published at nachi.org/buyback.htm.

The InterNACHI Inspection Warranty. Included on buyer's inspections, this is a limited warranty administered by a third-party warranty provider that covers certain specified systems and components for a limited period following the inspection. Coverage, dollar limits, exclusions, and the claims process are set by that provider, not by us. It is not a full home warranty and it is not a promise that the inspector will pay for repairs. The program is administered by Elite MGA and described at eliteinspectionwarranty.com. The plan term runs 90 days from closing or 120 days from inspection, whichever comes first — so it can end sooner than a flat ninety days implies. Claims are filed by the homeowner directly with the program, not through us, at eliteconsumerwarranty.com. Inspector Pros provides the Pro plan, which carries a $3,000 aggregate limit with category caps — $2,250 for electrical, structural, and mold; $1,500 for HVAC, plumbing, and appliances; $1,000 for roof leakage — and no age limit on covered appliances. Roof leak and mold claims carry a $250 consumer responsibility. Those figures are the program's, not ours, and are subject to the program terms in effect; read the terms document provided with your inspection for the full conditions and exclusions.

The honest framing: these programs add a layer of protection on top of the inspection. They do not convert the inspection itself into a guarantee, and the written Inspection Agreement you sign before the inspection remains the document that governs the service.

Attend if you can. Walking the home with your inspector and seeing a finding in person is worth more than reading about it later. For buyers who cannot attend — common for military families relocating to Fort Bliss — we do a video walkthrough and a live call.

Read the whole report, not just the summary. The summary is a navigation tool. The detail is where the context lives.

Use your option period. Findings that say "evaluate further" mean exactly that, and the time to bring in a roofer, plumber, electrician, or engineer is while you still have the right to walk or renegotiate.

Re-inspect after repairs. If a seller or builder repairs something, verify it. We have scoped sewer laterals that were reported as cleared and found otherwise.

Keep the report. It is a baseline for the condition of the home on a known date, which is useful years later when something changes.

Inspections performed in New Mexico follow New Mexico licensing requirements rather than TREC rules. Both of our inspectors hold New Mexico home inspection licenses (HIB-2023-0003 and HIB-2024-0012) and inspect throughout Las Cruces, Sunland Park, Santa Teresa, Mesilla, Chaparral and surrounding communities. Termite inspections are available for Texas properties only; for New Mexico, a licensed New Mexico pest control company is required.

If anything in this is unclear before you book, call and ask. The worst outcome for everyone is a buyer who expected something the inspection was never designed to provide. Inspector Pros inspects homes across El Paso TX, Las Cruces NM, and surrounding communities, 7 days a week. Call or text (915) 209-2332, view our sample reports, or schedule online.