Editorial Guides
Every research guide we've published, in one place -- what a specific era, system, or record actually means for a home you're buying, cited back to the government or industry source behind it.
Found an unpermitted deck after closing? What Texas and Washington disclosure laws ask sellers, when a seller can be liable, and what to gather first.
Check any NYC building on HPD Online by address: complaints, A, B and C violation classes, litigation, vacate orders and AEP, before you buy.
Search an Accela Citizen Access permit portal by address without an account, widen the date range that hides older permits, and read the result.
The signs of a previous owner's DIY wiring and plumbing you can see at the estimate, how to price the unknown, and how to tell the homeowner.
How to legalize an unpermitted deck: What inspectors need to see, why framing gets exposed, and what it costs to bring a deck up to code.
Buying a house with unpermitted work: who inherits the liability, how insurers and appraisers treat it, and how to find it before escrow closes.
Building permit history lookup by address: find the office that holds the records, read permit statuses, and spot work that was never finalled.
Learn how to look up building permit histories in Fort Worth, Arlington, and unincorporated Tarrant County to avoid buying a home with unpermitted work.
Search Los Angeles building permits by address: LADBS IDIS for city properties, EpicLA for unincorporated county, and the independent city portals.
Unpermitted work in Orange County can derail a purchase. How to search the right city and county permit records before your contingency ends.
Search Santa Clara County permits in the county portal or San José's SJPermits, and find out whether a California house's original plans exist.
Learn how to look up property permit history in Riverside County, CA. Step-by-step guide for searching unincorporated areas and incorporated cities.
Learn how to look up property permit history in San Bernardino County. Avoid costly unpermitted work mistakes in both cities and unincorporated areas.
Search Broward permits by address or folio in the county's BCS or a city portal like LauderBuild, and what a condo's inspection reports should show.
Learn how to search for property permit records in Middlesex County, MA, and why you must contact local town halls instead of county offices.
Search Sacramento permits by address in the city's open portal or the county's Accela login portal, and what Natomas's A99 zone means.
Search Hillsborough County permits by address in HillsGovHub, the older PGM Store and Tampa's Accela portal, and what an empty result really means.
Learn how to check Bronx building permits using NYC DOB systems. Uncover open violations, unpermitted renovations, and Certificate of Occupancy issues.
Learn how to search NYC DOB records to verify permits, open violations, and Certificate of Occupancy status before buying a home in Queens.
Search a Brooklyn property in both of its records: DOB building permits, and LPC landmark permits and violations if the house is in a historic district.
Buying a Manhattan apartment? Check the building's DOB permits and certificate of occupancy, its HPD violations, and any landmark record.
Look up Philadelphia permit history and open L&I violations by address in Atlas and eCLIPSE — and see which violations legally transfer to you at closing.
Learn how to check building permits in San Diego County, CA. Verify permit history across local jurisdictions to catch unpermitted work before closing.
Learn how to look up permit history, open violations, and unpermitted work in Miami-Dade County, FL using county and municipal online portals.
Building permits are public records in Illinois. How to search Cook County permits by address, use the Chicago portal, and request older files by FOIA.
Learn how to check building permit history in Clark County, NV, navigate local municipal portals, and identify unpermitted work before buying a home.
How to check code violations on a property online: which office holds the records, what an open case looks like, and what a portal search will miss.
Check permit records in Maricopa County and Phoenix-area cities to uncover unpermitted additions, open permits, and structural risks before closing.
Learn how to search building permit histories in Dallas County, TX, navigate city vs. county databases, and spot unpermitted renovations before buying.
Learn how to check Harris County permit history to uncover unpermitted work, flood repairs, and tax record discrepancies before closing on a home.
Learn how to request a seller's CLUE report before closing, why buyers cannot order one directly, and what insurance claims history reveals.
Polybutylene supply lines make a policy harder to bind. What underwriters weigh, what a repipe costs, and how to get a written answer before closing.
Can an insurer cancel your home policy after closing over the roof? What Texas and Florida law allows, the 60-day window, and what to get in writing.
Preparing for Hurricane Isaias? Check these 10 overlooked home, flood-risk and insurance details, and follow official guidance to protect your household.
Buying on the Gulf Coast as Hurricane Isaias nears? What flood maps miss, what home insurance excludes, and what to get in writing before closing.
A wood stove can affect what you pay for home insurance and whether a policy is offered. What insurers look at, and what to ask before you buy.
Insurers score roofs from drone and satellite images, and regulators keep finding the images wrong. What to check before you waive your contingency.
Insurers want proof of roof age before they quote. The permit is the fastest free evidence, and here is the ladder if your county has no record.
Title insurers pay about 4% of premiums in claims, against 70% for homeowners insurance. What that number really means, and the risk it hides.
Sump pump failure can cause significant water damage. Understand if your homeowners insurance covers it and what endorsements you may need.
Getting home insurance on a house with a fuse box is possible, but many carriers require an upgrade to a modern breaker panel before issuing a policy.
Flat roof home insurance is available but conditional: strict roof age limits, material standards, and water damage exclusions. What carriers ask for.
Buying a home with an unfenced pool or trampoline? Discover how insurers evaluate these risk factors and what safety steps are required to secure coverage.
Solar panels you do not own can complicate a home insurance application: what carriers ask, who insures the array, and what to check before closing.
Often yes, but only once the connections are remediated. What underwriting weighs on single-strand aluminium branch circuits, and how to get it in writing.
Learn why Zinsco electrical panels fail 4-point inspections, how insurance carriers evaluate them, and what options buyers have before closing.
Hiring an EIFS inspector before your deadline? The questions that separate a real moisture survey from a quick scan, and the red flags to listen for.
Buying a house with EIFS? The order to check things in: confirm it's EIFS, find its age, get a moisture survey inside your inspection period, then decide.
EIFS (synthetic stucco) and traditional stucco can look identical. Five checks to make at a showing, what each tells you, and when to call a specialist.
Find an electrical panel brand from the label inside the door and the breakers, what FPE, Zinsco, Challenger and Pushmatic mean, and what to ask.
Cast iron drain lines last roughly 50 to 75 years and fail from the inside. What a scope costs, what repair costs, and how to price it before you close.
Learn the safety, electrical code, and insurance realities of connecting modern Romex to vintage knob-and-tube wiring before you buy an older home.
Knob-and-tube wiring explained: what it is, how to spot it in your attic, whether it is legal, what drives replacement cost, and why insurers object.
Federal Pacific Stab-Lok panels pose severe fire risks and cause insurance denials. Learn why home inspectors flag them and how buyers should respond.
Standard home inspections do not test for buried heating oil tanks. Learn how to spot red flags and why an oil tank sweep is essential before closing.
A standard home inspection will not test EIFS for trapped moisture. What an EIFS stucco evaluation covers: thermal scans, moisture meters, probe testing.
Discover why standard home inspections miss asbestos, which materials commonly contain it, and how to schedule proper testing before closing.
High radon found during inspection? How radon contingencies work, who pays for mitigation, and how to negotiate a repair or credit before closing.
How to identify polybutylene pipes by color, markings, and location, and why home insurance carriers decline or non-renew houses that still have them.
Buying an older home with knob and tube wiring? Learn how lenders, insurers, and home inspections handle ungrounded wiring before you close.
An open ground means a three-prong outlet has no grounding path: a shock risk that also leaves surge protectors doing nothing. Who can fix it, and how.
"Typical settlement cracking" usually means minor, expected movement. How to tell it from signs of real foundation trouble, and what to do next.
A TPR valve dumps excess heat and pressure before a water heater can rupture. Inspectors check it because a blocked one removes the only safeguard.
What reverse polarity means on an electrical inspection report, why swapped hot and neutral wires pose a shock risk, and how to resolve it before closing.
Discover what "not inspected due to storage" means on a home inspection report, the hidden risks involved, and how to address blocked areas before closing.
Learn what "evidence of prior repair" means on a home inspection report, why inspectors flag past fixes, and how to verify if the work was done correctly.
What inspectors mean by "amateur workmanship", the DIY defects it points to in electrical, plumbing and structural work, and how to proceed before closing.
The sale usually pauses for licensed treatment and a clear wood-destroying organism report, which lenders often require. Who pays is then negotiated.
Do missing GFCI outlets mean a failed home inspection? Learn how inspectors evaluate electrical safety, how it affects your insurance, and the cost to fix.
A standard home inspection rarely covers the septic system. Learn why relying on a general inspector can lead to costly underground repairs after closing.
Relying on a standard home inspection to catch termites is a risky mistake. What general inspectors cover, and why you need a separate WDO report.
A standard home inspection is visual and non-invasive, so it cannot see mold inside a wall cavity. What an inspector can detect, and what finds the rest.
Learn when a seller can legally back out of a home sale after agreeing to inspection repairs, and how to protect your earnest money and transaction.
Learn when home inspection red flags justify walking away from a house, how the contingency protects your deposit, and when to walk.
Connecting PEX or copper to galvanized pipe is allowed with the right fitting. What the IRC requires, and what to ask about the old pipe left behind.
Tell PEX, CPVC, copper, galvanized, polybutylene and lead supply pipes apart on a viewing, with a magnet and a coin, and know which mean a repipe.
Orangeburg is sewer pipe made from wood fibre and tar, laid 1940s to 1970s. It soaks up water, deforms under soil weight, then collapses. How to spot it.
Whatever the recorded easement says. With no written agreement, maintenance costs usually fall proportionally on everyone who benefits. What to read first.
Buying a home with 100-amp electrical service? Learn how to assess the current load, estimate upgrade complexities, and negotiate before closing.
Learn what a double-tapped breaker is, why home inspectors flag it as a safety concern, and what steps to take if it's found in a home you're buying.
Demystify the Wood-Destroying Organism (WDO) report. Learn what this inspection covers, who is responsible for ordering it, and how loan types impact it.
Learn when the VA requires a termite inspection, who is allowed to pay for the fee, and how to handle pest issues before closing on your home.
How long does an air conditioner or furnace really last? Learn how to calculate HVAC age and the hidden failure signs home inspectors routinely miss.
Buying a home in a community facing an HOA lawsuit can stall your mortgage, increase unexpected costs, or block financing entirely. Here is what to know.
Past foundation repair can be a smart buy or a costly mistake. How to verify the work, check whether the warranty transfers, and satisfy a lender.
Not all cracks are structural. Learn the warning signs of foundation settling that need a structural engineer before you waive your contingency.
Look up a home's FEMA flood zone by address, read what the zone code means for your mortgage, and why zone X is not a no-flood guarantee.
Judge a roof's age on a showing from its material, layers, wear and attic, then confirm it with the permit, the invoice and your inspector.
See if a house has a lead service line before you buy: look up the address in the water utility's inventory, read its labels, then check the pipe.
Before you offer on a mobile home, find the HUD label and data plate, check the 1976 line, and read the federal FHA rules on land and foundation.
A south window in Chicago gets 9.1 hours of direct sun on the shortest day; a north one gets none. Every side, winter and summer.
Buying a home often triggers a property tax assessment reset to the sale price, but timing and rules vary by state. Learn how tax uncapping works.
Explore US counties with the oldest housing stock. See where over half of homes were built before 1950, and why age matters for property research.