I'm buying a duplex to live in one side and rent the other. What should the inspection focus on?

Focus on the three things that turn an owner-occupied duplex into a money problem: the fire separation between you and your tenant, the split between shared and unit-specific systems, and how the utilities are actually metered. You are buying two roles at once — homeowner and landlord — and the inspection should be read with both in mind. Start with the separation. Many two-to-four unit buildings in Iowa and Minnesota began as single-family homes and were divided into units later, sometimes without permits, and the one-hour separation IRC R302.3 requires between dwelling units is often incomplete, most commonly at the attic draftstop above the demising wall. That is a life-safety item for the side you sleep on, and an unpermitted conversion can also raise financing, insurability and legal-occupancy questions worth resolving before closing. Next, the ownership map. Shared components — roof, foundation, water service, sewer lateral, sump pump, common stairs — are single points of failure that take both units down at once and belong in your capital plan, not your maintenance budget. Unit-level equipment is different: a duplex commonly holds two furnaces and two water heaters of the same vintage, which means one bad winter can hand you two replacements. Third, metering. Find out which meter serves which unit and whether each unit has its own accessible shutoff. A single water shutoff for the whole building means you cannot repair one unit's fixture without shutting off your tenant. Common-area loads — exterior lighting, hallway, shared laundry, the sump pump — wired to one unit's meter means somebody is paying for the building's electricity, and if that somebody is your tenant, it changes your rent math. Radon and a sewer scope are worth adding on stock this age. To scope an owner-occupied duplex inspection, use the free instant quote tool below or call us.