property inspection

I thought i would share a few tips on property inspection as they r fresh in my mind from a recent inspection on a duplex my son and i viewed .This property was or is the first one justin is going to offer on.[EXCITED] anyway i am trying to teach him what i have learned from deans books and the academy along with what he has learned from deans books.
the appointment was for 5.30 .
Iexplained to him that it is best to go early before the agent is there and do a drive by to view the roof,siding,windows,etc.
take a notepad and pen and dont forget the flashlight [because we did forget ].as you drive by go slow and look at the roof-does it need shingles?or metal or are the materials ok? write this down.
count and write down how many windows and r they double hungs?casements?sliders? crankouts?
do these need replacing? i count them and write down for instance all 10 need replacing
next the ext doors-do they need replacement? a good indication is look at the deck attached to it,does the deck pitch away from the house or towards it?? in this instance the deck pitched right into the house and i explained to my boy that when we go right up to the doors when we do a walk thru that i bet the sills will be rotted and the doors and sills will need replacing.from the driveway everything looked good but yes when we looked closer the sills had water damegeand the bottom of the doors too !!
nothing we cant fix but this will be in our repair est.
next i told him to look at the chimney and eaves for damage.HE looked and we didnt see any chimney and there was two propane tanks out back so this told me that it was gas heated and to look for a power vented system.
the main idea here is to go early and spend at least half an hr looking at the exterior and taking notes on these items so u can view the interior when the agent gets there and save time and also more important ask the agent about the problems u find.the agent may or may not know the answer but u will have knowledge and an advantage to get answers.you can spend less time on the exterior looking and more time asking the important questions that need to be answered.
one more thing,bring a camera,FLASHLIGHT,voice recorder[small] to record as u view so u can go back to it and review before u assemble your offer.
feel free to add to these tips and share your bloopers,pitfalls ,and also what you may find works best for you on these inspections !!
jay