The equipment pad
Pump, filter, heater if present, plumbing and valves. We look at condition, obvious leaks, how it has been maintained and whether anything has been repaired in a way that will not last. Equipment has a service life, and knowing where a pump sits in that life is a budgeting fact.
Electrical bonding and safety
Bonding ties the metal components around a pool to a common electrical potential, and it is a genuine safety issue rather than a paperwork item. We check what is visible and accessible, along with GFCI protection at the equipment and nearby receptacles.
Barriers, gates and latches
South Carolina and local requirements address enclosure, gate self-closing and self-latching hardware, and latch height. Beyond code, this is the item most likely to matter on the day a neighbor's child is in your yard.
Surfaces and structure
Plaster, tile, coping and deck. Cracking, staining, hollow spots and separation between deck and coping tell you where water may be going and what resurfacing might be coming. Surfaces have a lifespan and replacement is not a small number.
Budgeting for what you are inheriting
Pool ownership costs are predictable once you know the age of the major components. A pump has a service life. A heater has a shorter one. Plaster and tile have a resurfacing horizon measured in years, not decades. The inspection is not just looking for what is broken today, it is telling you where each expensive component sits in its lifespan so you can plan instead of react. That is the difference between a pool that is a pleasure and one that feels like a series of ambushes.