How this experience began: part 3

We were given 30 days to close escrow, with the removal of contingincies occuring at various periods of time within this month period, the first of these being the inspection one by day # 10. The ultimate goal of the inspection is the acquisition of data indicating whether or not the building is sound from: 1) a structural standpoint (e.g. is there considerable dry rot (visible dry rot, in many cases, being like a tip-of-the-iceberg indicator of the existence of farther reaching expanses of the stuff hidden from visible sight), are there any large trees growing close to the building (root networks having a particularly insidious effect on foundational structure in addition to a complete indifference toward underground plumbing), is there evidence of wood destroying pest activity (e.g. termite shit and/or dried up termite thorax hulls); and does the roof show signs of dilapidation (e.g. visible drooping or evidence of water leakage in the ceilings)); 2) a plumbing standpoint (e.g. do all toilets flush, drains drain (it is also helpful to, in addition to testing these during the inspection, ask the tenants about the existence of issues in the past) and is there both hot and cold water available); 3) an aesthetic standpoint (e.g. are there large holes in the walls, doors, windows, broken tile, dingy bathtubs, etc..(it should be noted, however, that the aesthetic portion of the inspection is far less important than the two preceeding it)).
Since it isn't usually the case that home buyers are also professional contractors familiar with the clues that indicate faults in any of the 3 above mentioned categories it is necessary that such an individual be hired to give the property a fine toothed combing. In our situation, the individual enlisted to complete this was my brother Justin who, while not a licensed contractor, has worked in the field long enough to know what clues to look for. He and Robin completed this in a 2 hour period one morning, the final conclusion of this inspection indicating that, to his trained eye, there were no serious compromises to the building's overall structure (there were, however, a number of aesthetic factors that needed to be dealt with if we ended up closing the deal).