Are you sure you want to rent that?

Scorched outlet or painted-over outlet

The electrical outlet on the left clearly could point to a problem: Those are burn marks.

"When we see something that was burnt, we don't know whether it was external to the outlet — someone dropped a paper clip or something — or is there damage on the inside?" says Bob Sisson, a Maryland home inspector and owner of Inspections by Bob.

When it comes to electricity, you can't take a chance. If it's something on the inside — and a licensed electrician would have to check — then that something could be waiting to spark you next time you plug in. Or, worse, it could be slowly and silently heating up before breaking into fire.

Either way, you have to wonder: What kind of landlord doesn't repair the problem immediately?

Believe it or not, the innocuous-looking outlet on the right could pose just as much danger: It's been sloppily painted over.

It might look OK from a distance, but when inexperienced painters run a brush over an outlet like that, paint runs inside the outlet holes. When you plug in, some of the paint blocks some of the metal. The plug may still work, and you may not even notice. But the electrical connection may now be relying only on one corner of that metal plug, overburdening that one area of connection.

"It may only be touching in one spot, and that one spot is going to get very hot," Sisson says. "Again, that's a source of ignition that's inside the wall. That's something that we flag on home inspections all the time."

Freezer problem

The frost buildup on this freezer could indicate more than the need for defrosting.

Most modern refrigerators are designed to be frost-free, especially those with side-by-side doors. When frost builds up like this, it means the door is not closing properly, likely because of a missing or ill-fitting gasket, Sisson says.

"So it's letting cold air out and moisture in," Sisson says. "It's ruining food, and it's going to cost you more because it's running more than it should."

Your costs for tossed food and high electric bills will add up fast. Make sure it's fixed before you move in.

Vinyl dryer hose

Looks fine, doesn't it? The hose is securely attached to the dryer and to a ventilation unit outside.

But here are two things that put the fear of fire into any home inspector: That hose is made of vinyl, which is susceptible to static charges; and those ridges, which are also on the inside, capture dust and lint, allowing for a dangerous buildup of flammable material.

"It's a fire waiting to happen," Sisson says. "They kill people, they are that bad."

Although the use of flexible tubing violates building codes and voids dryer warranties, home inspectors continue to see such hookups -- and fires. Stay out of such a building until the hose is replaced, a mere $10 cost.

"Dryers are responsible for one-third of house fires," Sisson says. "This is something where we can prevent fires."

Water damage by window

The tape on this wall doesn't just look unattractive. It's a dead giveaway that at some point water leaked in through this window, which raises the question: Has the window leak been properly repaired?

After asking, note the landlord or property manager's response and take a photo. That way, if the leak continues and there's additional damage, the landlord or manager can't blame you and take it out of your security deposit.

Is it dangerous? If the leak continued and led to rot and mold, perhaps even where you can't see it, yes. Mold can make people feel sick, akin to bad allergies or having the flu. And mold can be eradicated only by removing the affected area and professionally cleaning any surrounding area where mold spores may have traveled.

Temporary drain-pipe tubing

Ah, another piece of tubing that looks quite nice. Clean. Good seals. But see how it's all bendy, like a child's straw?

How well do you think food and soap and hair are going to flow around those ridges, particularly with that big, low bend? Not so well. Sisson calls it "a clog waiting to happen."

This flexible tubing is intended for use under sinks as a temporary fix only — for a few days until the plumber gets the right parts. Left as a permanent installation, it may not pose a health risk, but it's guaranteed to cost you time and aggravation in the form of a slow, often blocked drain.

Perhaps even more importantly, it serves as a clue: This is a landlord who either doesn't know how to properly maintain his property or doesn't care to. When the next problem arises, how is he likely to respond?

Outlet not grounded

An outlet that is not properly grounded looks exactly like an outlet that is grounded, says Claudio Bluer, a housing inspector and owner of Austral Housing Inspections.

He and other inspectors recommend getting an outlet tester like this — available for $10 at any hardware store. Just plug it in; lights will flash if the outlet is not grounded or there are other problems with the internal wiring — things you just can't see.

In any home, surges of electricity can occur, due to events either inside or outside the house. When they do, extra electricity courses through the wires for a few seconds before the circuit breaker trips and shuts off power. When an outlet is grounded, that extra electricity is automatically routed into the ground. When it is not, the electricity can surge into your devices, or your hand, instead.

"If you don't have the ground, people become the ground, basically," Bluer says. "The computer becomes the ground, and starts melting." 

And don't be fooled just because an outlet has three prongs. It doesn't mean the wiring is grounded. And if it's not, and there's an electrical event, you could be shocked or killed.

Unsanitary tub caulking

This sloppy caulking job around the bathtub doesn't just look disgusting, it also poses a health risk. A tenant can easily miss this during a quick walk-through.

See those streaks of gray? "When the caulking loses its coloration, when it's not white or clear, it loses its waterproof barrier," Bluer says. "Mold grows on it."

As we said previously, mold can cause breathing and other health problems and is difficult to eradicate. In addition, "it's indicative that these guys aren't doing maintenance," Bluer says. "It's unsanitary. You don't want to have mold in your tub."

Dilapidated gutter

What kind of landlord lets this happen to his property? Not only has the gutter on this house rotted through, but the landlord has continued to rent it out without making repairs.

That alone says something about the landlord, who appears cheap or careless or both. Water that can't reach a downspout will drain onto the side of the house and into ground abutting the house, leading to long-term moisture damage to the structure and the foundation.

Excessive water is so damaging that it poses an immediate concern for the tenant. "The wall is not meant to withstand water dripping that way," Bluer says. The potential result: dampness inside the home.

If you like the feel of damp, the smell of mildew and the risk of mold, OK. Otherwise, move along to another rental.

Missing baseboards and molding

Believe it or not, this ground-level unit showcased well. It had a lovely deck and garden, and an existing tenant had decorated it beautifully. But the existing tenant's belongings also obscured the closet walls and floor seen here.

Once the belongings were removed, it was easy to see that the baseboards and molding were missing. Not only was this landlord allowing his home to rot, he had essentially created a welcome mat for anything wanting to come in from outside: pests, odor, moisture and more.

Immovable window bars

Steel window bars may be a common safety device in ground-floor units, particularly in some urban areas. But laws governing residential buildings require that they contain safety latches on the inside, providing a way out for tenants in an emergency.

The bars outside this window are good for preventing a burglary, but bad in the event of a fire — at least for anyone more than 4 inches wide.

Inoperable and painted-over latches

Looks like the painter who globbed paint all over the electrical outlets applied his same careful strokes to the windows.

These window frames and latches have been sloppily painted over so many times that they no longer close properly, posing a security hazard to the tenants and the tenants' belongings. Some of the windows in the same apartment did not even open; they'd been inadvertently painted shut.

State and city building codes require that windows and doors shut securely. Check them all to ensure that they function properly.

No cap on chimney

Iowa home inspector Tony Smith had a friend whose chimney pipe looked like this in one scary regard: It was missing a chimney cap.

"Every time I'd go over to his house, I'd look over at him and say, 'You've got to put a cap on that chimney or it's going to kill you,'" says Smith, chief inspector for House and Home Inspection Services.

Chimney caps prevent objects from falling down the flue and blocking the escape of carbon monoxide, the deadly gas produced by fires in chimneys, stoves, furnaces and water heaters.

"Birds sit on top of the metal flue to warm their wings up. The carbon monoxide overpowers them and they fall in," Smith says. One winter morning, his friend died in his sleep. Investigators later found three blackbirds plugging the opening of the water heater.

"All that CO went back into the house, and my friend did not wake up the next morning," Smith says.