Home inspection in Montour.

Water, first. Montour was founded in 1863 on Indian Creek near the Iowa River, so the lower lots sit on creek-valley alluvium — layered sand, silt and clay that carries a higher water table than the ground uphill. On those properties, basements and crawlspaces are worth reading for staining, efflorescence, rust lines and past repair, along with sump performance and discharge, and whether finished basement walls are hiding something. Then the house gets the full older-home read: panel, wiring, supply lines, drain stacks, chimney and roof, dated as precisely as the evidence allows.

Plan on two to three hours for an average home; larger, older or multi-unit properties run longer because there is simply more to document.