Home inspection in Waverly.

What we see in Waverly homes.

Waverly began as a mill settlement: in 1856 an entrepreneurial surveyor and his partners built a dam, sawmill, and grist mill at the outlet of Little Waverly Lake, and when the railroad arrived in the late 1860s, Waverly Station was laid out on the railroad's own land, apart from the old mill site. It incorporated as a village in 1881 and was reincorporated as Waverly in 1885, and by 1909 it had more than 1,000 residents. One historical account called it a pleasant village on a very pleasant lake and a summer resort. Today it covers 2.53 square miles, 0.88 of them water, with 1,900 residents and U.S. 12 as its main route.

In a small town with this much history and this much water, most of our attention goes to age and moisture. Older houses get a close look at wiring, plumbing, foundations, chimneys, and roofs. Because roughly a third of the city's area is water, we check grading, foundation walls, sump pumps, and any shoreline retaining walls, and we look for past water entry in lower levels. Mature trees close to houses add root and gutter concerns. Wright County is EPA Radon Zone 1, and the Minnesota Department of Health recommends every Minnesota home be tested.

Local facts checked September 2026 against: waverlymn.gov, Wikipedia.