Aspen Home Inspection Checklist: From Report to Decision

An Aspen home inspection should help you decide whether to proceed, negotiate a specific solution or use an available contract right before its deadline. Book the inspection early enough to read the report, investigate important findings and make that decision. Receiving a report is not the same as delivering a contractual notice.

Start with your signed agreement and amendments. Ask your broker and, where legal interpretation is needed, your attorney to confirm the inspection provisions that apply, the exact dates and times, and how notices must be received. The practical checklist below helps you organize the work without assuming every Aspen purchase uses identical terms.

Put the inspection decisions on your calendar

The Colorado Real Estate Commission's 2026 residential contract, available as a public form copy, distinguishes inspection termination, objection and resolution. Its standard provisions work differently at each stage; compare them with your executed contract rather than borrowing dates from a blank form.

Decision point	What to establish before it arrives
Inspection termination	Whether this option applies and whether you still have it. Under section 10.3.1 of the standard form, delivering an inspection objection ends this particular termination right.
Inspection objection	Which unsatisfactory conditions you want corrected, and when the seller must receive your written objection. A report alone should not be assumed to satisfy that notice.
Inspection resolution	Whether the parties have a written resolution. Under section 10.3.3, a timely objection left unresolved by this deadline terminates the contract unless the seller receives the buyer's written withdrawal by the deadline.

Do not assume that ongoing conversation extends a date. Have any agreed change properly documented. Ask who will send the notice, who must receive it and how receipt will be confirmed. Leave time for a decision before the deadline, not just an appointment on that day.

Book a scope that fits the property

Before hiring an inspector, ask what the inspection includes, what it excludes, what access is needed and when the written report will arrive. Tell the inspector about the property type and any particular concern, such as a reported leak, an addition or equipment you do not understand. Ask which observations could require a separate specialist and how quickly that follow-up could be arranged.

A general inspection and a specialist's evaluation answer different questions. An inspector may identify staining without determining its cause or the full repair scope. If access is restricted or a component cannot be evaluated, record what remains unknown and decide whether another visit is needed. Do not treat an unexamined area as a clean result.

For a condominium, establish what is inside the inspection scope and what belongs to common systems or association responsibility. Obtain available building information for those questions. A unit inspection does not by itself answer whether the association has a planned project, a funding issue or responsibility for a particular repair.

Coordinate access with the seller and appropriate building contacts. Discuss testing methods and permission before any invasive work; the standard contract also addresses inspection costs and damage. Avoid scheduling work that you have not arranged or cannot complete within the available time.

Include radon in the testing conversation

EPA's Home Buyer's and Seller's Guide to Radon recommends testing a home being bought or sold. Ask for previous results and information about an existing mitigation system. Review where and when the test was performed, who conducted it and whether changes to the home could affect its relevance.

If a new test is needed, arrange it promptly with a qualified tester. EPA recommends the lowest level that could be used regularly, which may differ from the seller's current living area. Agree on access, testing conditions and when results will be available. A neighboring home's result cannot establish the level in this home.

If the result raises a concern, obtain an explanation and an appropriate mitigation proposal in time to evaluate your options. Keep the test result, proposed work and contractual response distinct; a discussion about installing a system is not a completed repair agreement.

Match Aspen records to the actual work

For property within the City of Aspen, the city's Community Development public-records page identifies building-permit plans, land-use approvals, contractor licenses and violation records among the materials available through its records process. Use the correct address and project information when looking for records of an addition or renovation. Confirm the jurisdiction first if the home has an Aspen mailing address but lies outside city limits.

Ask whether the records describe the work you see. A permit for one project does not answer questions about a later alteration. Aspen's building-permit process distinguishes permit issuance, construction inspections and final approval through a Certificate of Occupancy or Letter of Completion. An issued permit is not the same thing as completed final approvals.

These records complement a condition inspection; they do not replace it. If the records and the property differ, ask the relevant city staff and a qualified professional what the difference means for your intended use, potential work and purchase decision.

Turn findings into a specific decision

Read the report for the observation, its significance and the recommended next step. Prioritize matters that could affect safety, active damage, major expense or your ability to use the property. Then compare possible responses: further evaluation, a defined repair, a financial adjustment, accepting a known condition or an available contractual exit.

For example, suppose a report notes water staining below a bathroom. A useful next step is a qualified evaluation of the source and extent of the problem. A proposal to repair the confirmed leak and affected materials is different from a request to replace an entire bathroom. This is an illustrative situation, not a diagnosis or suggested settlement for a particular home.

The Commission's 2026 Inspection Objection Notice is intended to identify unsatisfactory conditions and requested corrections. Have your broker or attorney prepare the appropriate notice for your agreement. Discuss credits and repair arrangements with the lender before relying on them; the form warns that a resolution can affect financing, require additional inspections or delay closing.

Keep the other purchase questions moving

Inspection is one part of the purchase. Track separate financing, insurance, title and document-review requirements alongside it. Pitkin County's Recording Department maintains documents such as deeds, deeds of trust, liens and subdivision or condominium plats. Those records can inform title and property-rights review, but they do not establish the home's physical condition.

Before your inspection decision is due, you should be able to explain the important findings, what remains unresolved, the response you want and the action required under your contract. If a repair is agreed, establish what completion documents and verification will be needed before closing.

Discuss an Aspen purchase with Doug Leibinger. Bring your agreement, inspection report and specific property questions so the next conversation can focus on the decisions that matter to your purchase.