Beyond the Checklist:Essential Home Inspection Pictures to Manage Risk

Quick Summary: Home inspection pictures serve as key evidence to help protect inspectors from frivolous claims. In this article, we go over which inspection photos to take to manage risk. 

In North Carolina, a home inspector performed an inspection on a property that had been vacant for about 18 months. During the home inspection, the inspector ran the water in the various fixtures, including the shower directly above the kitchen. The inspector photographed the kitchen, including the ceiling, which, at the time, showed no signs of any deficiencies.

Upon moving in, the clients found a large water stain above the kitchen sink and below one bathroom’s shower. The fact that the stain was dry created some suspicion as to how long the stain had been present. The claimants alleged the stain must have been there all along. 

Good thing for the home inspection pictures. 

Those inspector’s photos showed the exact area now exhibiting a water stain, with no staining at the time of the inspection. The claim was denied. 

The old adage is that a photo is worth a thousand words. In the home inspection industry, a photo can be worth thousands of dollars. 

Why Home Inspection Pictures Matter

Section Summary: The right home inspection pictures can help inspectors avoid and resolve liability claims. 

Kevin Mathers of KGM Home Inspections in Illinois is approaching two decades in the industry. Each year, he tends to take more and more photos for his reports. Sure, his clients appreciate browsing through all the colorful pictures of their potential home, but there’s a bigger reason for it. 

“Liability,” he said. 

Inspection photos are an invaluable risk management tool. By capturing the state of the home at the time of the inspection, your photos can prove what was there—and what wasn’t. This can help avoid a potential “he-said, she-said” claim. 

From our perspective, the more pictures you have, the more evidence we have to defend you against meritless claims. You can’t take too many.

Along with resolving claims, home inspection pics can also prevent claims by enriching your reports. They can help inspection clients understand your findings and put them into context. They can bring reports filled with descriptions laced with technical jargon to life.

In our article, “How to write a report that clients understand,” Barry Won of Building Specs Hawaii, LLC in Hawaii shared how photos can shape the report. 

“We document everything with pictures to back up what we’re actually saying,” Wong said. “That makes it easier for the client to understand what’s actually happening, [which]…makes my job much easier, too.”

Common Issues Captured in Home Inspection Photos 

Section Summary: Each home inspection report should include specific items—namely, photos of certain defects at the macro and micro levels. 

What do home inspectors take pictures of? 

Here are photos every inspector should include:

• Roofing wear, flashing, and penetrations.
• Water staining and moisture damage on ceilings.
• Wood rot and structural shifts.
• Visible mold or organic growth.
• Improper insulation.
• Cracked framing or foundation issues.

Mathers is an instructor for American Home Inspectors Training (AHIT), and teaches his students to have a macro and micro view of the home. The pictures in an inspection report should showcase that. 

“The macro view is going to be from the street or the sidewalk or the property lines,” he said. “The micro view is your typical up close and personal inspection around the house.”

Inspection report photos should include the home’s exterior from many angles, and feature close-ups of the roof, foundation, grading, siding, and windows. 

As for the interior, Mathers suggests taking photos of data tags on the furnace, AC, water heater, and any other major mechanicals. He also makes sure to take pictures underneath sinks while water is running, and even takes short videos when he thinks it would be helpful (like of a running whirlpool tub). 

And he heavily documents crawl spaces and attics—taking upwards of 50 photos of each—because “that’s where all the secrets are.”

Other Home Inspection Pictures to Manage Risk

Section Summary: Along with the obvious defects, home inspectors should also take photos of non-defect areas, inaccessible spaces, concealed areas, and anything else they put in their report.

Those secrets can spell trouble. 

In Idaho, a home inspector marked on the inspection report that they’d done a full inspection of the attic. But the inspection report didn’t include any photos of the attic. 

The problem: When the buyers moved in, they saw extensive and obvious fire damage in the attic. Without inspection photos, it’s hard to know what happened on the day of the inspection, leading to a $100,000 settlement and $75,000 paid in attorney fees.

Want to avoid a similar mistake? Here are the photos to take to mitigate your risk as a home inspector. 

1. Inspection Photos of Non-Defect Areas

Section Summary: It’s important to take photos of non-defect spaces just in case a future problem occurs in the area.  

As a home inspector, it’s your job to visually examine and report on the home’s physical structure and systems. For many home inspectors, that starts and ends with discovering and describing defects. But it’s important to document everything, non-defect areas included.

While they may not end up in your report, inspection pictures of non-defect areas provide a snapshot in time. These inspection images testify to the home’s condition on the day of the inspection. That documentation can assist you in defending against allegations regarding defects that occurred post-inspection.

For example, say a client complains about an issue that you are certain was not present during your inspection. This does not refer to a hidden defect, but something that you definitely would have noticed if it was present during the inspection.

Your first step to explain or refute the issue would be to review the inspection photos. Some inspectors only take pictures of the problem areas, so consequently there may not be a record of the non-problem areas. Taking photos of areas that don’t have issues is a cheap and easy way to avoid frivolous claims in the future.

Thus, be sure to take pictures of not just what’s wrong with the property but what’s right. After all, you never know if the client will point the finger at you when functioning systems go awry in the future.

2. Inspection Photos of Inaccessible Spaces

Section Summary: Sometimes it’s not possible to get to an attic or hop on a roof. When that happens, inspectors should take photos to show what obstructed them from accessing the area. 

On occasion, weather, the owner’s belongings, or safety issues inhibit your ability to inspect a space. Perhaps rain makes it unsafe to climb up and inspect the roof. Or maybe piles of boxes are blocking your access to the attic. Alternatively, perhaps the crawlspace has too little clearance to enter.

Whatever the reason, it’s important to take photos of what is inhibiting you from inspecting the area. Then explain the reason in your report. Failure to do so could lead clients to second-guess whether the area really was inaccessible.

Three months after inspecting a 111-year-old property in Washington, a home inspector received a complaint. The claimants alleged that the inspector had failed to identify broken and insufficient floor framing, and demanded that he pay for renovations so the property could meet current building and regulatory codes. A foundation contractor provided a bid of over $30,000 to repair and replace the structural deficiencies.

The home inspector’s report provided a strong defense. It not only identified several structural deficiencies, but also noted that the insulation limited his visibility of the foundation and floor framing components. Furthermore, the claimants’ photographs showed that two of the allegedly broken beams were, in fact, separate beams without defects. With his home inspection photos as evidence, we denied the home inspector’s liability and offered no settlement to the claimants.

Be sure to take inspection photos of partially or fully inaccessible spaces to defend your business from potential liability.

3. Inspection Photos of Concealed Areas

Section Summary: Inspectors should take photos when something—furniture, clothes, or anything else—is blocking their view.  

Whenever a client questions Mathers about something he may have missed, he pulls out an inspection photo to check. He usually finds the so-called missed defect was concealed during the inspection—and he has visual proof of that.

“The pictures actually represent things that I cannot see,” Mathers said. “If I got a bedroom full of furniture and a closet full of clothes, I can’t make any true representation of anything that’s behind those.”

He’s far from alone. 

In Louisiana, claimants alleged that an inspector failed to identify water intrusion in the property’s hallway. Not included in the inspection report but illustrated in photos the insured retained for their own records was a picture of the exact area in question. The inspector’s photograph illustrated that, at the time of the inspection, the sellers had placed a rack and a blanket directly in front of the area, hiding the water intrusion. 

The inspector’s images clearly showed that the area was concealed and, thus, not readily identifiable. We denied the inspector’s liability with no offer of settlement on the insured’s behalf.

In another claim, the clients alleged that the home inspector did not report water damage to a specific area of their hardwood floors. Upon reviewing the home inspection photos, the inspector found that, at the time of inspection, a large potted plant had sat in that same water-damaged area. 

The photograph proved that the inspector couldn’t have seen the signs of water damage during the inspection, and even revealed that the plant had caused the damage.

4. Inspection Photos of Everything in Your Report

Section Summary: If an inspector writes up a defect in their report, they should take a photo of it, too. That will help double-check their work and manage risk. 

If you put it in your report, you should have photographic evidence. Remember our inspector in Idaho who skipped the attic and missed extensive, visible fire damage? He could’ve avoided a $100,000 claim if he’d taken photos of the area he claimed to inspect. 

Was the burning concealed at the time of inspection in some way? Or was it just a mistake? Without photos, there’s no way of really knowing. 

The lesson: Back up everything in your report with a home inspection photo. Not every picture needs to end up in the actual report, but you should at least save it for your own records. That will help you confirm your own findings and provide you with strong evidence if ever faced with a claim. 

Taking Photos and Managing Risk: Key Takeaways

Section Summary: Taking inspection photos—and lots of them—is one of the best ways to manage your risk against home inspection claims. 

It may seem tedious to take photo after photo. However, inspection photos are one of the best ways to manage risk. 

Don’t let your next allegation be a battle of “he said, she said.” Take many pictures so that you have a photo to back you up in every scenario.

While inspection photos provide fantastic defense, they cannot always prevent clients from filing claims in the first place. That’s why it’s so important to carry errors and omissions (E&O) and general liability (GL) insurance to protect your home inspection business.

If you’re already insured with us, be sure to complete your annual renewals on time to avoid a lapse in coverage.

If you’re not one of our insureds but would like to be, simply apply today for a no-obligation quote.

Frequently Asked Questions About Home Inspection Photos

What is the purpose of home inspection pictures?

Home inspection photos serve three critical purposes:

1. Client communication, helping buyers understand the inspection process.
2. Documentation of the property’s condition at the exact time of the inspection.
3. Risk management. Photos provide evidence that can protect inspectors from allegations of missed defects or when damage occurred post-inspection.

What do home inspectors take pictures of?

Inspectors should take photos of:

• Defect areas: roofing issues, water stains, wood rot, mold, foundation cracks, and etc.
• Non-defect areas: normal conditions that prove what was functioning or undamaged at the time of the inspection.
• Inaccessible areas: attics blocked by insulation, crawl spaces with low clearance, roofs unsafe to climb, and etc. Document the limitation clearly.
• Concealed areas:  spaces hidden by the seller’s belongings, like those behind furniture or under rugs.
• Structural systems: attics, crawl spaces, and mechanicals like furnaces, water heaters, and AC units—including data tags.

Should I include every photo in the final report given to the client?

It’s not necessary to include every photo in your inspection report. Rather, t it’s best practice to retain them to help protect you from potential future claims.

Inspectors should save their inspection photos, notes, signed agreements, and reports for at least five years. With the convenience of cloud storage, however, we recommend storing inspection materials like photos for 10 years, as long as the property stands, or forever. It’s always better to have records when you need them than to need records you don’t have.

Read our article for more tips on storing home inspection photos, videos, and reports.

Why are inspection videos or photos of non-issues important?

Short videos can be helpful for items like running showers, whirlpool tubs, or drainage. Photos of areas that appear fine are equally important. They establish a snapshot in time and have repeatedly helped inspectors successfully defend against claims involving later-appearing issues.

Can photos really help win or prevent insurance claims?

Absolutely. Inspection photos can prove that alleged defects were not visible, accessible, or present during the inspection. In multiple cases, this has led to full denial of claims with zero settlement, saving inspectors thousands of dollars. 

How can I take better home inspection photos?

Some of our favorite tips for better home inspection photography include:

• Photograph defects you include in your report, areas you can’t inspect, and non-defect areas.and what you can’t inspect. 
• Organize photos chronologically or by inspection area. 
• Consider timestamped images and consistent file naming. 
• Most importantly, treat your camera as your strongest witness when a claim arises.

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This article was published in the ASHI Reporter in April 2019. See how this story appears in print below.