Contractor quoted me $11,000 to clean out a 3rd floor walk up attic of blown in insulation (25’x40’) includes removal of floor boards, vacuuming of blown in cellulose insulation, installation of fiberglass insulation, demolition of walls in a small (20x20’) and that’s about it. This is in Massachussets. Am I getting ripped off ?
Lead (paint & pipes), asbestos (mostly insulation on pipes or in attic), condition of structural beams if any, any wood framing or siding for wood boring pests, problematic settlement or movement more than the norm, pipe leaks, foundation cracks, and check any chimneys if possible for structural integrity. I'd also suggest taking a look at public records. Old houses tend to have work done on them over time. See if permits have been granted for any kind of work through the town website and whether or not it passed inspection after. Hopefully not everything is a DIY case.
Your inspector should already know to look at all these things and then some, but know that whatever they do look at it will be very high level - if he "suspects" mold in the bathroom but can't access it to confirm, etc, you may need to just take on the risk or get a specialized professional in there to confirm.
Not your inspector but hire someone to checkout the sewer line.
I had my inspector check my sewer for extra $$ when they were there
Do a video inspection of the sewer line to the street and pay to have the video saved. I’ve bought two older homes and the sewer lines had to be replaced on both.
Also pay for a roof inspection and get an estimate of years left on the roof. One one of my houses they hadn’t installed the proper vents on the roof, so it cut 7-10 years off the life of the roof