New England has some of the oldest housing stock in the country, and we love it for that. A center-chimney Colonial or a well-built 1960s ranch has character that new construction can’t buy. But older houses fail in predictable ways, and after enough years of fixing them, you start to see the same short list turn up on inspection report after inspection report.
For agents and sellers, that predictability is an advantage. If you know what the buyer’s inspector is almost certainly going to write up, you can decide what to handle before you list instead of negotiating against it after an offer. Here’s the list we see most.
Roofing and flashing
Roofs are the single most common inspection finding on any home more than ten years old. Usually it’s not the whole roof, it’s the details: cracked or curling shingles, worn flashing around the chimney and vents, and the aftermath of ice dams. Buyers and their lenders get nervous about roofs, so an obvious roof issue does outsized damage to a deal.
Outdated or unsafe electrical
This is a big one in New England’s older homes. Watch for:
- Problem panels. Federal Pacific, Zinsco, and Sylvania panels have a documented history of breakers that don’t trip when they should. Many are still in service and inspectors flag them on sight.
- Knob-and-tube wiring. Still lurking in antique homes. Insurers increasingly won’t write a policy over it.
- Missing GFCI protection in kitchens, baths, and exterior outlets, which is a cheap, common write-up.
Panel and wiring work is licensed-electrician territory, but the GFCI outlets and the smaller items are quick fixes worth clearing early.
Plumbing leaks and old pipe
Under-sink leaks, running toilets, and corroded supply lines show up constantly, and they’re mostly easy fixes. The bigger flag is galvanized supply pipe, common in older homes, which corrodes from the inside and chokes off water pressure. You don’t have to repipe the house to sell it, but you should know it’s there and be ready to talk about it.
Water intrusion and grading
Inspectors are trained to follow water, and in our climate there’s a lot of it. Wet basements, poor grading that slopes toward the foundation, downspouts dumping at the wall, and staining from past leaks all get written up. Most of it traces back to drainage, and a lot of it is fixable without heroics. We go deeper on this in catching water damage early.
Attic ventilation and insulation
A poorly ventilated attic bakes in summer and drives ice dams in winter. Inspectors note it, and it connects to the roof and moisture problems above. Adding ventilation and insulation is straightforward work with a real payback.
Radon
In New Hampshire, expect a radon test as part of the inspection, and expect a meaningful share of homes to come back high. Getting ahead of it is its own conversation, which we covered in radon in the Granite State.
The case for going first
Here’s why fixing the punch list before listing pays. When buyers find a list of problems during their inspection, they don’t just ask for those repairs, they get nervous about the whole house and negotiate harder on everything. A pre-listing inspection flips that. Sellers who address issues up front see smoother negotiations, fewer concessions, and faster closings, because the buyer isn’t discovering surprises. That matters more than ever: recent market data showed roughly 15% of home sale contracts falling through in mid-2025, frequently over issues surfaced in the buyer’s inspection. Every one of those is a deal that had already cost both agents real time.
This is the same argument we made in inspection deal-breakers agents can fix pre-listing, and it holds up: the fixable stuff is cheaper to handle than to negotiate.
How agents actually use this
The agents we work with don’t want to become project managers. They want one call that turns an inspection report or a pre-listing walkthrough into a cleared punch list, on a timeline that fits the listing. That’s the relationship we’re built for. If you list in southern New Hampshire and want a handyman partner who understands what a deal needs, see how we work with agents or get in touch.
Sources
- Spectora and MKC Home Inspection, most common home inspection findings and defects in older and historic New England homes.
- Redfin and HomeLight, pre-listing inspection benefits and 2025 contract-cancellation data.
- Consumer Product Safety Commission and industry references on Federal Pacific, Zinsco, and Sylvania electrical panels.
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