What St. Louis Home Inspections Really Turn Up (And How to Tell a Dealbreaker From a Negotiating Chip)

"The inspection report just came back." Those six words can make a buyer's stomach drop or a seller's palms sweat — but most of what shows up on a St. Louis-area inspection isn't the disaster it looks like on paper. Here's how to read the report like I do.

Why Our Housing Stock Makes This Step Extra Important

A huge share of what I show and sell — brick bungalows in South City, foursquares in Maplewood and Webster Groves, ranches in Florissant and Ballwin built in the 50s and 60s — comes with decades of history baked into the walls. That's part of the charm, but it also means an inspection here tends to turn up more than it would in a subdivision full of homes built five years ago. That's normal, not a red flag on its own.

The Issues I See Flagged Most Often

Four things show up on almost every older St. Louis home's report: roof age, electrical updates (especially knob-and-tube or aluminum wiring in pre-1960s homes), foundation and basement moisture — our clay-heavy soil expands and contracts with the seasons, which is why so many area homes have sump pumps — and HVAC systems nearing the end of their lifespan. None of these automatically kill a deal. They're simply what a 60- or 90-year-old house does.

Missouri's Radon Factor

One thing out-of-state buyers are often surprised by: Missouri sits in a higher-potential radon zone, and it's common practice here to test for it during the inspection period, not after closing. It's an easy, inexpensive test, and if levels come back elevated, mitigation systems are a well-understood, relatively affordable fix — not a reason to walk away, just a line item to plan for.

Dealbreaker or Negotiating Chip? How to Tell the Difference

I coach my clients to sort everything on the report into two buckets. Dealbreakers are structural: a foundation with active movement, significant water intrusion, major roof failure, or safety hazards like ungrounded electrical panels. Negotiating chips are everything else — a water heater that's 12 years old, a few GFCI outlets that need adding, gutters that need resealing, a cracked driveway. The second bucket doesn't need to scare anyone off; it needs a conversation.

How the Negotiation Actually Works

In our market, buyers typically have about ten days from acceptance to complete inspections and request repairs or credits. I encourage buyers to prioritize: ask for the two or three items that matter most rather than nickel-and-diming a five-page punch list, because sellers respond much better to a short, reasonable list than an overwhelming one. On the seller side, a fast, fair response to a reasonable request keeps the deal — and the goodwill — intact.

My Advice to Buyers and Sellers

If you're buying: don't waive your inspection just to win a bidding war. A $400-500 inspection can save you from a $15,000 surprise, and in most cases it won't cost you the house — it just gives you information. If you're selling: consider a pre-listing inspection so nothing catches you off guard mid-contract. Fixing the obvious stuff ahead of time — a leaky faucet, a missing handrail, an overdue furnace filter — keeps the buyer's report short and your closing timeline smooth.

An inspection report isn't a scorecard on how well you've kept your house, and it isn't a reason to panic as a buyer. It's a tool. Used well, it protects everyone at the table and keeps the deal moving toward the closing table instead of falling apart over it.

If you're gearing up to buy or sell in the St. Louis area and want someone in your corner who'll walk you through every page of that report line by line, I'd love to help. From "I do" to "Welcome Home," I'm here for whatever comes next.