About this video. The person on screen is an AI-generated avatar in my likeness. The voice is mine, cloned from recordings of my own voice, and the editing adjusts the sound. The image and the voice may therefore differ from my real appearance and delivery. The text is written and approved by me, and I take full responsibility for it. This process lets me publish regularly; it changes nothing about what is said.
Hello. Fifteen items come up often in pre-purchase inspection reports. Not in every one — from one report to the next, it’s never the same. It depends on the house, on the inspector, and on what was accessible that day.
The question, as people ask it: “what should I check before selling my house”
Cracks in the foundation walls
If there’s a crack in your foundation, here is exactly what to do, and above all, who to call.
First item on the list: cracks in the foundation walls. Inside the basement, and outside, on the part of the concrete that sticks out of the ground.
We look at three things. The direction of the crack. Its width. And whether both sides have stayed in the same plane.
An unrepaired crack can let water in. That’s all I can say about it. The cause of a crack, its acceptable width, what it says about the structure: that is assessed by a structural engineer. And watch out for a common confusion: assessing a crack and repairing a crack are not the same trade. The repair is done by a contractor specialized in crack repair, who is not necessarily an engineer. Me, I note that it’s there, and I tell you who to show it to.
A practical tip. Photograph it with a coin next to it, for scale. Write the date on the back. The engineer will thank you.
Slab cracks and signs of movement elsewhere in the house
Is your basement finished? Then the concrete slab is only visible in a few places. Here they are.
Second item: cracks in the basement’s concrete slab. The floor this time, not the walls.
A slab is often covered. Carpet, floating floor, ceramic. If your basement is finished, you don’t see it. So look where it stays visible: the mechanical room, the storage space, under the stairs, behind the furnace.
On a basement floor covering, you note discoloration, buckling, or an odour. Those are observations. What they indicate is for a structural engineer to say.
As with the walls, assessing a slab crack belongs to a structural engineer. What you can do yourself is know it exists before someone else finds it.
And look beyond the concrete. An interior door that rubs when it used to close fine, a floor that slopes, a stair-step crack in a drywall wall above an opening: these are observations to write down, with the date. They are not verdicts, and it’s not up to you to draw a conclusion from them.
The visible structure: beams, columns, joists
If someone finished your basement before you, there are three things to go look at on the ceiling.
Fourth item: the visible structure. The beams, columns and joists you can see in an unfinished basement or in a crawl space.
Three things to look at. Is the wood discoloured or spongy to the touch, especially where it touches the concrete. Is a column adjusted with stacked wood shims. And third: has a joist been drilled, notched or cut to let a pipe or a duct through.
That last one is common in basements finished after the fact. A modification made to the structure may have been done by the rules, or not. It can be verified. And it is verified by a structural engineer.
If your basement was finished by a previous owner, it’s a place to look before listing.
Signs of water infiltration, efflorescence, mould and lingering odour
The white, powdery deposit on your basement concrete has a name. And I’m not the one who can tell you where it comes from.
Fifth item: signs of water infiltration and efflorescence. Two visual observations, on the basement concrete.
Signs of infiltration are rings on the concrete. A wave-shaped discoloration at the bottom of the wall. A stain that stops on a sharp line. The bottom of a stored cardboard box that has warped.
Efflorescence is the whitish, powdery deposit that appears on concrete. It rubs off with a finger.
Those two are symptoms. And that matters, because the French drain itself can’t be seen. It’s buried. No one sees it without excavating or without a camera. What we see are its symptoms.
The person who can link a symptom to its cause is an engineer. Not me.
Add what you can see and what you can smell: a dark stain spreading on a finish, a ring at the bottom of a wall, and the basement smell that doesn’t go away with airing out. The odour gets noted like the rest — and a visitor will smell it, even if you no longer do.
The roof and the attic
Open your gutter and look at the bottom. What you find there tells you about your roof.
Seventh item: the roof, and the attic.
The roof is looked at from below, from the ground, with binoculars if you have some. Lifted, split, or missing shingles. And a sign you can see from the ground: granules — the small gravel that covers the shingles — at the bottom of the gutters or at the foot of the downspouts.
The attic is looked at from the hatch, without going in, with a flashlight. Two things. Dark stains on the wood of the roof underside or on the trusses. Frost or droplets on the nails and on the wood, in winter. You don’t walk around in an attic: the rest is looked at by the person equipped to do it.
Careful, these are two different trades. The stains on the wood and the condition of the shingles: that’s a roofer. The frost and the condensation: that’s a ventilation contractor.
And I won’t tell you how many years your roof has left. No serious person will tell you that from a photo.
The electrical panel, the brand, and the wiring
Go read the name written on the door of your electrical panel. There are two specific names to write down, without opening anything.
Eighth item: the electrical panel. Here is what can be noted by eye, without opening anything and without touching anything.
Four visual observations. Without opening anything, and without touching anything.
One. Is it a fuse panel — round fuses that screw in — rather than breakers. Two. What is the service entrance. It’s indicated on the panel. Sixty amps, one hundred amps, two hundred amps. Three. The brand, written on the door. Federal Pacific Stab-Lok. Sylvania Zinsco. Those two names, write them down if you see them.
Four, and it’s tied to the year of construction. Between 1965 and 1978, some houses were wired in aluminum on the outlet and lighting circuits. Watch out for the most common confusion: an aluminum service entrance is normal, you find it everywhere, that’s not what we’re talking about. We’re talking about the interior circuits.
Why this concerns a seller: insurance and financing questions are asked directly to your insurer and your financial institution. Me, I note what is written on the panel door.
The person who answers this question is a master electrician who is a member of the CMEQ.
Visible plumbing and contaminants of the era
Does your house date from the seventies or eighties? There are four things that can’t be seen by eye.
Last block on the list: visible plumbing, and contaminants tied to the era of construction.
For plumbing, we look at what’s visible in the basement and under the sinks. A grey, flexible plastic pipe with fittings: that’s polybutylene. Remember the word. A dull grey pipe, softer-looking than copper. Don’t scratch it. Note it, photograph it, and show the photo to a plumber. Green or white corrosion around a fitting. A trace of moisture under a joint.
Now, contaminants. If your house was built between 1975 and 1990, there are checks that are done in a laboratory. Pyrite. Iron ochre. Asbestos. Vermiculite in an attic.
And here, the rule is simple: it can’t be seen. It gets tested. An accredited laboratory takes the sample and gives you a result. No one can tell you by eye. Not me, not an inspector, not a contractor.
For visible plumbing, it’s a plumber. For the rest, it’s an accredited laboratory.
Who to call, and for what
I don’t do the inspection. My role is to know where to look and who to call.
- Structural engineer
- Decontamination specialist
- Roofer
- Ventilation contractor
- Master electrician (CMEQ)
- Plumber
- Accredited laboratory
Frequently asked questions
Get a value report for your property, and a marketing plan
Get a value report for your property, and a marketing plan — comparables, features, opinion of value
Full video transcript
Full transcript of the video above, translated from French. Published September 1, 2026.
Hello. Fifteen items come up often in pre-purchase inspection reports. Not in every one — from one report to the next, it’s never the same. It depends on the house, on the inspector, and on what was accessible that day.
My name is Ernso Cléus. I’m a residential and commercial real estate broker with RE/MAX Crystal. Before becoming a broker, I earned a diploma in building inspection technology. Since 2019, I’ve walked into hundreds of houses with a flashlight.
But these are the ones that come up most often. And if you’re thinking of putting yours on the market this year, you can look at them yourself. Before the buyer’s inspector.
One thing before we start: this isn’t an exercise in verdicts, it’s an exercise in timing. The goal isn’t to conclude anything — the goal is to know early, while there’s still time ahead.
I’m not going to tell you what it’s worth, or what it costs, or whether it’s serious. I’m going to tell you what to look at, and who to ask.
Cracks in the foundation walls
First item on the list: cracks in the foundation walls. Inside the basement, and outside, on the part of the concrete that sticks out of the ground.
We look at three things. The direction of the crack. Its width. And whether both sides have stayed in the same plane.
An unrepaired crack can let water in. That’s all I can say about it. The cause of a crack, its acceptable width, what it says about the structure: that is assessed by a structural engineer. And watch out for a common confusion: assessing a crack and repairing a crack are not the same trade. The repair is done by a contractor specialized in crack repair, who is not necessarily an engineer. Me, I note that it’s there, and I tell you who to show it to.
A practical tip. Photograph it with a coin next to it, for scale. Write the date on the back. The engineer will thank you.
Slab cracks and signs of movement elsewhere
Second item: cracks in the basement’s concrete slab. The floor this time, not the walls.
A slab is often covered. Carpet, floating floor, ceramic. If your basement is finished, you don’t see it. So look where it stays visible: the mechanical room, the storage space, under the stairs, behind the furnace.
On a basement floor covering, you note discoloration, buckling, or an odour. Those are observations. What they indicate is for a structural engineer to say.
As with the walls, assessing a slab crack belongs to a structural engineer. What you can do yourself is know it exists before someone else finds it.
And look beyond the concrete. An interior door that rubs when it used to close fine, a floor that slopes, a stair-step crack in a drywall wall above an opening: these are observations to write down, with the date. They are not verdicts, and it’s not up to you to draw a conclusion from them.
The visible structure: beams, columns, joists
Fourth item: the visible structure. The beams, columns and joists you can see in an unfinished basement or in a crawl space.
Three things to look at. Is the wood discoloured or spongy to the touch, especially where it touches the concrete. Is a column adjusted with stacked wood shims. And third: has a joist been drilled, notched or cut to let a pipe or a duct through.
That last one is common in basements finished after the fact. A modification made to the structure may have been done by the rules, or not. It can be verified. And it is verified by a structural engineer.
If your basement was finished by a previous owner, it’s a place to look before listing.
Signs of infiltration, efflorescence, mould and odour
Fifth item: signs of water infiltration and efflorescence. Two visual observations, on the basement concrete.
Signs of infiltration are rings on the concrete. A wave-shaped discoloration at the bottom of the wall. A stain that stops on a sharp line. The bottom of a stored cardboard box that has warped.
Efflorescence is the whitish, powdery deposit that appears on concrete. It rubs off with a finger.
Those two are symptoms. And that matters, because the French drain itself can’t be seen. It’s buried. No one sees it without excavating or without a camera. What we see are its symptoms.
The person who can link a symptom to its cause is an engineer. Not me.
Add what you can see and what you can smell: a dark stain spreading on a finish, a ring at the bottom of a wall, and the basement smell that doesn’t go away with airing out. The odour gets noted like the rest — and a visitor will smell it, even if you no longer do.
The roof and the attic
Seventh item: the roof, and the attic.
The roof is looked at from below, from the ground, with binoculars if you have some. Lifted, split, or missing shingles. And a sign you can see from the ground: granules — the small gravel that covers the shingles — at the bottom of the gutters or at the foot of the downspouts.
The attic is looked at from the hatch, without going in, with a flashlight. Two things. Dark stains on the wood of the roof underside or on the trusses. Frost or droplets on the nails and on the wood, in winter. You don’t walk around in an attic: the rest is looked at by the person equipped to do it.
Careful, these are two different trades. The stains on the wood and the condition of the shingles: that’s a roofer. The frost and the condensation: that’s a ventilation contractor.
And I won’t tell you how many years your roof has left. No serious person will tell you that from a photo.
The electrical panel, the brand, and the wiring
Eighth item: the electrical panel. Here is what can be noted by eye, without opening anything and without touching anything.
Four visual observations. Without opening anything, and without touching anything.
One. Is it a fuse panel — round fuses that screw in — rather than breakers. Two. What is the service entrance. It’s indicated on the panel. Sixty amps, one hundred amps, two hundred amps. Three. The brand, written on the door. Federal Pacific Stab-Lok. Sylvania Zinsco. Those two names, write them down if you see them.
Four, and it’s tied to the year of construction. Between 1965 and 1978, some houses were wired in aluminum on the outlet and lighting circuits. Watch out for the most common confusion: an aluminum service entrance is normal, you find it everywhere, that’s not what we’re talking about. We’re talking about the interior circuits.
Why this concerns a seller: insurance and financing questions are asked directly to your insurer and your financial institution. Me, I note what is written on the panel door.
The person who answers this question is a master electrician who is a member of the CMEQ.
Visible plumbing and contaminants of the era
Last block on the list: visible plumbing, and contaminants tied to the era of construction.
For plumbing, we look at what’s visible in the basement and under the sinks. A grey, flexible plastic pipe with fittings: that’s polybutylene. Remember the word. A dull grey pipe, softer-looking than copper. Don’t scratch it. Note it, photograph it, and show the photo to a plumber. Green or white corrosion around a fitting. A trace of moisture under a joint.
Now, contaminants. If your house was built between 1975 and 1990, there are checks that are done in a laboratory. Pyrite. Iron ochre. Asbestos. Vermiculite in an attic.
And here, the rule is simple: it can’t be seen. It gets tested. An accredited laboratory takes the sample and gives you a result. No one can tell you by eye. Not me, not an inspector, not a contractor.
For visible plumbing, it’s a plumber. For the rest, it’s an accredited laboratory.
Those are the fifteen items that come up most often in pre-purchase inspection reports. Foundation cracks, slab cracks, signs of movement, visible structure. Signs of infiltration, efflorescence, mould. Roof, attic, ventilation. Panel, panel brand, wiring. Plumbing, contaminants.
Look at them at home, from the ground and from the hatch. Without opening anything, without unscrewing anything, without climbing on the roof and without walking around in the attic. Write down what you see, and the date. For everything you don’t know how to interpret, there’s someone whose job it is — and I’ve told you which one for each.
Now, the step before. Before having anything checked, a seller’s first question is the value of their property.
I produce a value report. And I also offer a marketing plan for your property. The comparable sales in your area, the features that matter, and an opinion of value. An opinion of value is a brokerage act, and it’s exactly what my licence allows me to do. The report comes with a conversation, not with a promise. Request it through the links below the video.
And if you’re already bound by a brokerage contract with another broker, this invitation isn’t meant for you.
One clarification to finish. I don’t pass verdicts on a building, I don’t put a price on work, and I don’t act as an inspector in any real estate transaction. I observe, and I tell you which expert to call. It’s different, and it matters.
Ernso Cléus, residential and commercial real estate broker, RE/MAX Crystal. Your broker who knows buildings.
Read also: selling your home with a broker · all the seller tips · get in touch
Ernso Cléus, residential and commercial real estate broker — RE/MAX Crystal. Your broker who knows buildings.
