You buy a new residential rental property, and do your due diligence by hiring a home inspector to look over things and provide a report. Everything looks good, you remove conditions, and away you go!

Well, did you know that home inspectors don’t check absolutely everything? Nothing against them, they are a critical team member to most successful real estate investors, but they’re not superhuman.

What are some of the things that they don’t usually find?

1. Foundation issues. Most good inspectors can see if there is a large gaping crack in the concrete foundation, but what happens when no foundation wall is exposed? They don’t have x-ray vision like Superman, and can’t see what’s behind the drywall, nor are they allowed to start ripping apart a basement suite.

If the seller decides to not disclose this to you, your best bet is to visit the property right after a heavy rainfall and see if any water is getting in.

This happened to us back in 2007. Everything looked good during the inspection, we removed conditions, and picked up the keys to the property. Once inside, we were a little surprised to find 2 inches of water covering the basement floor. Needless to say, this was an expensive lesson learned. To date we have spent over $15,000 on weeping tile, foundation wall repair, and sump pump installation. We will likely have to spend another $15,000 to repair the other side within the next few years.

2. Waste line condition. This one is tough. We have been burnt numerous times with sewer lines that are basically nothing more than a hole bored through the dirt. Homes in the city of Edmonton back in the 50’s used tar paper for waste lines vs PVC piping seen now. Over 60 years, this tar paper disintegrated into nothing, or roots poked their way inside, the home owner cut them out, and in the process further deteriorated the condition of the line. How on earth could an inspector be expected to know what condition these lines are in? The only real way to be sure is to hire a plumber with a camera that can poke it down there and take a video for you. This is money well spent compared to spending $5000 to install a new line.

3. Roof condition. This one is usually fairly obvious… in the summer. If the roof is covered in snow, how on earth are you supposed to know what condition the roof is in?

These are just a few things I have been burnt with, although I’m sure that there are many more which I will discover over time!

By Chris Stepchuk Aug 2, 2013