The inspection I do before I ever make an offer

General Real Estate Investing
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The inspection I do before I ever make an offer

James JonesPro Member
Investor · Collierville, TN 38017 · Member since 2017 · 911 posts · 630 votes

I do not make an offer off photos.

Before I offer on a single-family house in Memphis, I walk it with one question in mind: can this house get rent-ready and still hit my numbers?

First, the big systems. Roof, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, foundation, and any sign of water getting in. If two or more of those are shot, the rehab stops being a rehab and starts being a rebuild, and the math usually dies right there.

Second, the layout. I am looking for the conversion. Can a 2/1 become a 3/1? Can a 3/1 become a 4/2? That extra bedroom is not cosmetic. In the Memphis ZIPs I buy in — 38109, 38111, 38112, 38114, 38116, 38117, 38118, 38122, and 38128 — 3BR+ is where Section 8 rent works, $1,395 to $1,950.

Third, I run the numbers on the spot. I buy BRRRR single-family under $100K. I need ARV in the $180K to $265K range, rent that clears the 1% rule, and a refinance that makes sense on DSCR at 70-80% LTV. If it fails there, I walk, no matter how good it looks.

I never put earnest money down, and at 236 properties, deal flow is my bottleneck — not money, not contractors. So I inspect fast, decide fast, and do not chase a house that does not pencil.

What is the one thing you check on a walkthrough that will kill a deal for you every time?

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Randy Schell
Member since 2026 · 99 posts · 10 votes
20h

James, for me it was always water. A musty smell or stains under sinks and around ceilings told me more than anything, because it usually means something bigger is hiding behind it. I'd also check how old the water heater is and whether the doors and windows actually close right, since those are the things tenants end up living with.

Randy, Bunklow

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  • Vladimirs Veiss
    Developer · Riga, Latvia | Switzerland | Florida · Member since 2026 · 105 posts · 17 votes
    22h

    @James Jones thanks for sharing the walkthrough, James, and "I do not make an offer off photos" is the right rule. Honestly, we don't have one single deal-killer. The pattern we see most is the one you described, two or more systems shot, especially with a layout that can't add a bedroom: that's when a rehab quietly turns into a rebuild. But reading it right takes someone who has opened a lot of walls, because two tired systems can be fine if the price already reflects them. So here's a fun experiment :) Send one Memphis house you're looking at, photos or just the address. We'll ask you a few questions about what you saw on your walk, then send you our rehab range and resale estimate, and you be the judge of how close a remote read gets to your own numbers. Deal? Have a great evening!

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  • Ametria Chaney
    Realtor · Memphis, Shelby County · Member since 2026 · 192 posts · 66 votes
    21h

    James, "I do not make an offer off photos" is the golden rule right here — that alone puts you ahead of most buyers making offers sight unseen.

    For me, the one thing that kills a deal every time on a walkthrough is signs of water getting in with no clear source or easy fix. Stains on ceilings, swollen baseboards, musty smell in a crawlspace — water finds every weakness, and the repair bill is the part you can't see until you open walls.

    Everything else — cosmetics, dated kitchens, even a tired roof — is just math on a spreadsheet. Water damage is math with a question mark next to it. If I can't trace it and price it confidently, I walk, no matter how pretty the rest of the house is.

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  • Randy Schell
    Member since 2026 · 99 posts · 10 votes
    20h

    James, for me it was always water. A musty smell or stains under sinks and around ceilings told me more than anything, because it usually means something bigger is hiding behind it. I'd also check how old the water heater is and whether the doors and windows actually close right, since those are the things tenants end up living with.

    Randy, Bunklow

    1Reply
  • Lauren CutchenBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · The Woodlands, TX · Member since 2019 · 199 posts · 81 votes
    19h

    @James Jones love the "no offers off photos" rule. Up here in north Houston and Conroe the thing I look hardest at is water: any sign it's gotten in, how the lot drains, and the foundation, since our clay soil moves a lot. Two big systems shot is usually a pass for me too, unless the price already reflects it.

    [email protected]832-406-4239
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  • Russell Cabus
    Atlanta, GA · Member since 2026 · 26 posts · 5 votes
    16h

    In addition to the above posts: From an operations perspective, I’d turn each finding into a property-specific task with photos, a responsible person, and a deadline.

    That will give PM a clear handoff after purchase and keep “repair identified” separate from “repair completed and verified.”

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  • James JonesPro Member
    OP
    Investor · Collierville, TN 38017 · Member since 2017 · 911 posts · 630 votes
    15h

    Appreciate all of these — water is the consensus, and it's earned. Untraced water is the one thing I can't price standing in the house, so it kills the deal until the source is found. @Vladimirs Veiss I'll pass on the remote-read experiment — the walk is the whole point for me. But you're right: two tired systems are fine when the price already reflects them.

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    • Vladimirs Veiss
      Developer · Riga, Latvia | Switzerland | Florida · Member since 2026 · 105 posts · 17 votes
      3h

      @James Jones totally fair, James. The walk is your edge, and no model replaces it.

      And the water point is the honest one: if you can't trace it, you can't price it. We work the same way. Everything visible gets a price, and anything hidden stays unpriced until someone finds out what it is.

      When water killed a deal and the seller later fixed the source, did you ever go back to that house, or is it a hard pass?

      Enjoy the weekend!

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