Historic Home Inspections:Navigating Old Charm and Modern Liability

The United States may not have Europe’s castles and cathedrals or Japan’s ancient shrines. But tucked among modern skylines are homes that have witnessed generations of change. Some date back hundreds of years and are still private residences today. For inspectors who appreciate old architecture, performing historic home inspections offers a unique glimpse into the lives and structures of generations past.

At the same time, historic properties across the country are gradually succumbing to time and neglect. Younger generations who inherit them often lose interest in or don’t have the resources to research and preserve their historical value, said Scott Collins of Pillar to Post in Georgia. As these houses lose their place in the modern world, historic home inspectors have an opportunity to educate consumers about the challenges and responsibilities of buying a historic home.

How are historic home inspections similar to old home inspections? Is inspecting a historic home different from a regular home inspection? And what steps can inspectors take to limit their liability? Read on for answers.

What makes a home historic?

Historic vs Old Home Inspections

Historic homes are older homes by definition. As Bud Rozell of Good Home Inspection in Texas said, “a historic home is an old home with a title.”

Based on our 2022 article about old home inspections and US Inspect’s piece about the challenges of inspecting historic homes, both are prone to:

• Neglected, outdated, unconventional, or obsolete systems (e.g., buried oil tanks), structures (e.g., settling foundation or decaying wood decks), and materials (e.g., knob-and-tube electrical wiring, stone foundations, and lead or cast iron plumbing). This can include structures or building methods that seem like defects because they don’t adhere to modern standards, but are actually just quirks or craftsmanship choices from an earlier architectural period. Or they could be genuinely unsafe, as with toxic materials like asbestos and lead paint.
• Cheap remodeling or house “flipping” that looks beautiful on the outside, but hides years of deterioration or compromises the home’s historic or structural integrity.
• Pests like termites and powderpost beetles in the home, bats in the attic, or snakes, rats, skunks, and their possible decay in the crawlspace.
• Water intrusion and subsequent mold.
• Less energy efficiency than modern homes, Energy Select says.

But not every older home qualifies for historic designation. So, what’s the difference?

How are historic properties unique?

But not every older home qualifies for historic designation. What makes historic homes unique?

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) maintains the nation’s official and ever-evolving list of historic or “traditional cultural places” (TCP). It uses specific criteria to determine eligibility. (Visit the National Park Service’s guides to evaluating properties and identifying traditional cultural places at nps.gov to learn more about this criteria.)

When considering a “building, structure, object, site, or district” for TCP status, the NRHP looks at three qualities:

• Age: Is it at least 50 years old? (Exceptions exist.)
• Integrity: Does it reflect its original structure and character enough to convey its historical significance in tangible or intangible ways?
• Significance: Is it tied to important historical events, developments, people, architectural movements, or engineering milestones? Does it show promise for yielding valuable insights, like as an archeological site?

What about historic home inspections? Is inspecting a historic home different from a regular home inspection? 

Many inspectors would argue no. You might need additional disclaimers in your report and pre-inspection agreement about things like not inspecting for code (especially because historic homes rarely adhere to modern building standards). You might pay extra attention to safety, and it helps to know about common features and defects you could encounter. Otherwise, you’re still following your standards of practice (SOP).

In any case, inspecting historic homes and buildings can be an exciting and fulfilling adventure—for those who know what they’re getting into.

Risks and Challenges Unique to Historic Home Inspections

Many historic home inspection clients underestimate the financial and logistical demands of owning these properties. This can lead to added complications and even more liability for home inspectors.

Here are some risk factors to consider.

Not every buyer is equipped for the expenses.

Buyers romanticize historic properties. Awestruck by the charming facades and mesmerizing backstories, they may not recognize the toll time has taken until they’ve hired an inspector or fully lived in it. Between decades of normal use, home ownership changes, natural catastrophes, unsafe features or conditions, neglectful ownership, or rushed and unprofessional modifications, that seemingly picture-perfect property can be a money pit in disguise, Rozell said. 

“It’s a heartbreaker sometimes, because there’s one type of person who buys a historic home. And that’s somebody who’s in love with the architecture and the house, and they have all these romantic notions about it. They can see their grandkids playing in the yard. They can see croquet parties, lemonade on the porch. But of those, there’s those who can afford it and those who can’t,” Rozell said.

“You get the client that comes and they’re moving from out of state or whatever. They’ve only lived in new houses, but they always wanted an old house. You’d think if they lived in a new house that they’d know how much things cost. But a lot of times they [say], ‘What do you mean there’s no air conditioning in this house? There’s just window units in every window?’” he said. “They’re just overwhelmed by the real costs of owning a historic house.” 

If you offer historic home inspections, know that some clients aren’t prepared to adopt the financial burdens of repairing and maintaining, finding insurance for, and even paying more expensive basic utilities for historic homes. And while it’s outside your scope to predict these potential expenses or determine necessary repairs, that hasn’t stopped clients from trying to hold inspectors responsible for higher-than-expected costs.

Maintenance and Modernization

In addition to the costs, the actual logistics of keeping a historic property habitable can catch buyers off guard.

Many local governments require prior historic approval before doing any work that isn’t minor repairs. Failure to obtain appropriate permits or approval can result in fines, Collins explained. Buyers might be upset that they can’t make whatever changes they want.

“They’ve got stars in their eyes and they’re like, ‘We own this historic home. Let’s tear it out and remodel it,’” Collins said. “I tell them, ‘We have rules here. You can’t just do that. …  If you do these changes and they’re not approved, not only will you be fined, but you’ll have to restore it back to the way it was at your cost.” 

And even if they get permission, modern features and technology aren’t always compatible with historic properties. Buyers may have to go without some of the conveniences they know and love. Or their efforts to improve may unwittingly make the home’s condition worse.

For example, many owners with good intentions move in and insulate historic homes like modern homes. But imagine the installer isn’t familiar with early-1900s-style roofs and they neglect proper ventilation. In time, the new owners could see mold growing in an attic that worked fine for 100 years, Rozell explained. 

“It needs some serious consideration to update a historic house,” Rozell said. “If you take an older house from the early 1900s and before, they were built to breathe. They were built for the environment. … But when people come in and try to modernize a house … where the house has been performing perfectly fine for hundreds of years, they can go in there and really wreck it.”

Difficult-to-Replace Materials

Worse yet, imagine the client tears down antique flooring or wallpaper (or you accidentally damage them during your historic home inspection). Ron Passaro, retired president of Res-I-Tec. Inc. in Connecticut, said they would likely want a blind repair, one that blends so seamlessly an untrained eye couldn’t distinguish the original from the patch. To achieve this, they might be required to find original materials, not recreations, Collins described. 

Tracking down a match for those 100-year-old materials can be extremely expensive. And failing to match the original materials could require more extensive repairs, Passaro said. 

“If the floors are wood, and most of the old floors were, you can probably repair them. But I don’t think it would be a blind repair. I think people would be able to see the repair. Wallpaper? Forget it. If the wallpaper’s damaged, you have to redecorate the [whole] house,” Passaro said.

Though that falls under a cosmetic defect and he wouldn’t report it as an inspector, Passaro says it’s another expense clients and inspectors may not anticipate.

Inspection Limitations

You could encounter inaccessible areas in any inspection. But depending on the house’s condition, you may be even more limited with certain historic home inspections. 

For example, if the home has an original asbestos or metal roof, and you’re worried about slipping or accidentally damaging it, you likely couldn’t walk on it. Additionally, some historic properties have repurposed or abandoned storm shelters, stairs you wouldn’t feel safe accessing because they’re so narrow or the dimensions are so inconsistent, and features in places you wouldn’t expect, Rozell said. 

While inspecting a crawlspace, Rozell once encountered a “road closed” sign underneath the house. He didn’t mess with it, worrying he would encounter a snake. It turned out the sign was hiding a potentially dangerous relic: a well. And if the crawlspace had been inaccessible, he worries what could’ve happened if his client were to find that relic accidentally.

“The seller says, ‘Did you find the well?’ I go, ‘Underneath that big metal [sign]?’ And he says, ‘Yeah!’ I’m like, ‘Why didn’t you tell me before I went down there?’” Rozell said. “What if I never saw it? What if now Dad’s underneath there fixing something … and he never comes back up?”

Managing Risk With Historic Home Inspections

Depending on where you live, you could encounter problems with homes built in the 1940s or even with 300-year-old homes. But that doesn’t necessarily make historic home inspections more difficult—just different. 

Don’t let those differences scare you off, Rozell said. You’re still following your SOPs and practicing good communication like you would with any other home. And, who knows? It could even open up more doors for your business.

“You don’t turn down work. You inspect it to the same standards of practice,” Rozell said. “At the end of the day, it’s a house that was built different.”

If the creak of original floorboards, the smooth polish of worn banisters, and the earthy scent of aged timber speak to you, you’ll feel at ease inspecting historic properties. Here are some tips to best manage your risk in the process.

1. Educate yourself beforehand.

You read the property’s listing and it boasts official registration and titles as a historic property. Or perhaps you’re moving to a town or state where these properties are more common. How should you prepare?

All the inspectors we interviewed agreed: Do your best to expand your knowledge in advance. The more you know, the more confident you’ll be answering clients’ questions and writing your home inspection report. It’ll also help protect you from unnecessary liability.

Learn from others.

Collins and Passaro agreed that mentorship is key for anyone new to historic home inspections.

“The best suggestion I can make is to take a ride along with a local inspector and see some of these antique homes and how they’re really built a lot different than by a modern-day carpenter,” Passaro said. “If you’ve never seen one, you’re going to have to get some knowledge.”

“Whether you’ve been here for years and you want to get into historic homes, or if you’re moving to the area and you know there are going to be historic homes, find an inspector in the area, swallow your pride, and say, ‘Hey, I’d like to sit down and talk with you. Maybe we can do a mentorship.’ No man is an island of himself, so take the time to reach out to these people who have this experience or have this training and knowledge and protect yourself. Because you’re going to get yourself into trouble if you say the wrong thing or if you don’t say anything at all,” Collins said. “There’s nothing wrong with asking for help or guidance. And maybe get a friendship out of it and pass inspections back and forth to each other.”

Do your own research.

Rozell recommends learning about historic properties by watching YouTube videos and reading past issues of Fine Homebuilding magazine or the Journal of Light Construction. A little bit of homework can create opportunities, he and Pasarro said. 

“Take the job and then study it before you go,” Rozell said. “Just don’t go to an inspection blind.”

“If you can’t get [your training] from a local inspector …  then I would suggest you get to the library, get as much antique [home] information you can get, and read about the practices and how they built the antique homes,” Pasarro said.

Familiarizing yourself with historic construction can also inform you about features and defects you can expect to see, like knob and tube wiring, Collins said.

“Going into a house that was built before 1940 … there’s going to be evidence of knob and tube wiring,” he said. “For me, it’s like an Easter egg hunt.”

Moreover, different districts may impose their own rules about federally- and state-protected historic homes. Even if you don’t give clients specific advice about which specialists to consult, knowing about these regulations means you can offer clients a general warning.

“Some of these rules include what color you can paint your house. Some of them say whether you can have a fence or not, [or] what type of fence it is. …  People think they own that home and it’s theirs and they can do what they want to with it on the inside. You cannot,” Collins said. “You cannot [alter them] without permission in certain areas. So I’ll make sure they know that.”

2. Be prepared to set clients’ expectations.

The average homeowner isn’t familiar with what a standard home inspection entails. Now factor in buyers who aren’t familiar with historic home inspections, and setting expectations becomes even more critical. So, how should you handle client expectations during historic home inspections? 

Prioritize communication, both verbally and in your home inspection report. Try to anticipate their misconceptions early on so you can dispel them.

For example, Passaro would start by talking to the client and finding out how much they know about historic houses. Some topics you might discuss:

• Are they expecting the house to be in stellar condition because it’s on the historic register? Or are they familiar with the common problems with 100-year-old homes?
• Are they expecting modern amenities, like high-demand electricity?
• Do they understand and feel equipped for the costs of repairing and running a 100-300-year-old house, including higher energy bills? Or that their dream renovations need prior approval and could be vetoed entirely?
• Does the home’s age and region suggest an increased possibility of wells, septic tanks, knob-and-tube wiring, mold, lead, or buried oil tanks? Are they aware of these possibilities? (And, if so, are you offering an additional inspection service? Or disclaiming them in writing so they know you aren’t reporting these things?)

And, as always, educate them about home inspections, in general. 

Explain the visual and limited nature of an inspection so they know you can’t catch every safety concern or see through walls. Consider telling them what is (and isn’t) included in your scope, like mold if they didn’t pay for a mold inspection. Setting these expectations verbally and in your signed pre-inspection agreement offers extra protection.

3. Don’t rush your historic home inspections.

Quality communication takes time, so don’t rush. Give yourself ample time to inspect the home and chat with clients, Rozell said. 

“McDonald’s sells more food than anybody. But some people want to go to a steakhouse. I’m a steakhouse, I’m not a McDonald’s home inspector. So you have to spend the time communicating with somebody buying an older home,” Rozell said. “These older homes are full of [defects] and it takes time [to inspect them]. Even if you weren’t talking to the client, it’s going to take some time to peel an onion like that.”

Charge appropriately for that time, too. Don’t sell yourself short.

“A lot of inspectors, if they don’t charge to meet that business model, they can’t survive that way,” Rozell said. “And maybe they shouldn’t inspect historic homes, because they take so much more communication.” 

4. Use visual aids.

Visual aids are always important for a visual home inspection. But with historic home inspections, photos and videos are more than just a reporting tool. They also help bring the home and all its rich history to life.

Rozell uses these tools so clients can see the inspection in real time through his eyes. In doing so, he can point out observations and provide more visual and contextual clues than are possible with written words alone. But he always gives a disclaimer that the photos and videos are supplemental to his home inspection report—not a replacement. With written and visual mediums at their disposal, ideally buyers will have a clearer idea of what they’re getting into, he said.

“How I see the roof is how you’ll see the roof. How I see the attic, the crawlspace, on and on,” Rozell said. “I kind of speak to the house, and that’s how my videos communicate with my clients.”

Meanwhile, take photos and videos of defect and non-defect areas. If you ever need to prove which defects were visible or which spaces you couldn’t access, visual evidence can shut down frivolous accusations with ease. 

5. Suit up.

Since historic home conditions run the gamut, always come prepared with the right personal protective equipment (PPE) and tools to protect yourself and the home from harm.

For example, if the grass is long overgrown, consider wearing boots and coveralls. Use a flashlight or even a crawlspace robot to check for snakes, raccoons, and other critters before entering the crawlspace. And if you can’t walk on the roof due to fragile roofing materials or heights, consider a drone, pole cam, and/or binoculars. Whether it’s new construction or a historic home inspection, no inspector should be caught without options, Passaro said.

“You can’t climb every roof. Climbing a slate roof is dangerous, not only to you but to the roof.  You’re going to put your foot on a slate roof, you’re going to break a slate every time you do it. Asbestos roof, the same way. So some roofs are just not safe for you or the roof to go on. But every inspector I know of has another way to look at a roof,” he said.

Remember: If you can’t access an area or you use an alternate inspection method, you should document why in your report. Write down why you couldn’t get your boots on the slate roof and what you did instead. Documenting limitations and articulating your methods can defend you in court, like it did in our “bad roof” case study.

6. Adjust your perspective.

Some inspectors, like Collins, argue you can’t evaluate historic structures through the lens of modern construction. 

Instead, he says it’s like inspecting on a curve. You aren’t ignoring a historic house’s foundation cracks or safety concerns, for example. But take some defects with a grain of salt. You can’t expect a historic home to meet standards that didn’t exist when the house was built, he said. 

“When you go to a historic home inspection, you have to completely change your mind. Stop thinking code. Obviously you have to write up some safety issues. … But don’t try to act like it has to meet current code. It’s just not ever going to, because of the historical value of the building. They will not allow it to be altered,” Collins said.

Instead, Passaro recommends asking: Is it doing its job and doing it safely? 

“[The house] stood there for 100 years, 150 years, 200 years. So you’re going to say it’s wrong because we don’t do it that way today? No. It did its job the way it was supposed to do it. A new, young inspector may not recognize it because the house is unique to itself. You can’t put it into any category [or] any chart that’s on the books today,” Passaro said.

But don’t adjust your scope.

At the same time, don’t lose sight of your scope. Ultimately, your job is to report the historic home’s condition like you would with any other inspection, US Inspect explains in their blog article.

Don’t take on unnecessary liability by trying to report what’s original and what isn’t, which deficiencies were grandfathered in or not, or what was deficient back when the home was built. You can even include a disclaimer in your report that you won’t address historic home requirements, US Inspect suggests. 

For the purposes of your inspection report, what matters is what’s deficient now per your current standards of practice, Rozell said. As a historic home inspector, leave the translation to the client and their agent.

“I can’t stress how important it is to not limit yourself to the standards of practice. But definitely don’t make your own up. Don’t fly free. When you’re inspecting an old house, if it wasn’t a deficiency when the house was built, if it was grandfathered in—it doesn’t matter. It’s still a deficiency,” he said.

What if your client needs a contractor who can make those decisions? Should you refer them to historic construction specialists or preservations?

Passaro and Rozell suggest leaving that to the agent.

“Usually that’s the Realtor’s job. You let the Realtor do their job and it removes you from a position of liability,” Rozell said. “When you’re in business, that’s number one. You have to mitigate your risk and do everything you can to remove yourself from a position of liability.” 

“I don’t get into the historical value. That’s up to the agent,” Passaro said.

7. Invest in the right insurance.

If you want to perform historic home inspections, make sure you have the appropriate insurance for the risks you’re taking on.

What kind of insurance coverage should you have when inspecting historic homes?

Given the heightened risk of concealed defects, hazardous materials, and outdated systems, errors and omissions (E&O) is an essential safety net for all inspections, historic or otherwise. If you accidentally break an expensive antique, general liability can help cover the losses, too.

Don’t forget about ancillary services like mold, lead, septic, and pest inspections. You can face claims for these out-of-scope issues even if you aren’t paid to report them as an ancillary inspection service. For the most robust coverage and peace of mind, ask your insurance provider about endorsements for these common client complaints.

With InspectorPro, bad insurance is ancient history.

At InspectorPro, we bundle inspectors’ favorite endorsements for one lower price. Contact your agent to learn about the InspectorPro Bundle, or apply for a free, no-obligation quote to learn how InspectorPro can provide the best peace of mind for your business.