How important is that defect or issue?
Every defect and home inspection report is not created equal. Some defects are so critical they can make it impossible for you to live in your new home until they are corrected. Others can pose a serious safety risk to you and your family. While others can be dealt with when time and resources allow. Many home inspectors report only defects with no information to let you prioritize their repair. Urgency rating every defect is an exlusive feature of a WiseEyes advanced home inspection report.
Every defect in your home inspection report will have an easy to understand numerical rating for importance to help you understand how it effects your purchase and repair plans. Each defect will be flagged with an easy to see graphic that shows the urgency level from 5 (critical) to 1 (low).
Cost to repair is not directly related to the urgency of a defect found during the home inspection. However, inability to define a range of cost is a factor that is considered when assigning the urgency rating. As example would be a contaminated well. This is Category 5 as you can not occupy a home with contaminated water. Until it is corrected the final cost to fix this problem is not knowable and could range from low (clean the well) to high (drill a new well).
Urgency Level 5 - Critical
The property is unsafe for habitation by anyone and/or requires a repair that could be very costly and can not be defined with any reliabilty at this time. This level carries the recommendation that proper repairs by appropriate professionals should be made before closing on the property.
Urgency Level 4 - Serious
This defect is likely to be difficult to repair or worsen quickly causing more extensive damage. Typically, fixing this defect will require a specialist contractor. This rating may also indicate something that would be difficult or unsafe to live with unless it was corrected very soon after occupancy. The costs of an item at this level could be determined with fair reliabilty so that instead of repair a monetary settlement can be made to allow closing to proceed on schedule.
Urgency Level 3 - Moderate
This is harder to repair or replace and has more likelihood of causing more extensive damage in the near future then a minor item if left uncorrected. Items that individually are moderate may have a higher urgency rating if taken collectively they constitute a more difficult or inconvenient defect to fix.
Urgency Level 2 - Minor
Some possibility of causing more extensive damage in the near future and if left uncorrected damage will get worse. Items that individually are minor may have a higher urgency rating if taken collectively they constitute a more expensive or difficult correction.
Urgency Level 1 - Low
Not likely to cause more extensive damage in the near future. Items that individually are low may have a higher urgency rating if taken collectively they constitute a more expensive or difficult correction.
Urgency levels are my best opinion , based on knowledge at the time, as to the need for correction of a particular concern or defect. They are based on the visible evidence at the time of the inspection. Cost alone is not the only factor in determining urgency. A defect with a low urgency may have a high cost (painting the whole house) while a defect rated Serious (4) or even Critical (5) may not be extrememly expensive to repair (a bad GFCI or a contaminated well) Regardless of assigned urgency level any defect can worsen unexpectedly due to conditions that were not visible or knowable at the time of the inspection. It is recommended that regardless of urgency that all defects be repaired be made as soon as possible.
