ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Drive-by inspection

Drive-by inspection is when someone drives by a building or property to take a look at it without going inside. It’s like taking a quick peek from your car window while you drive past a house.

People might do this for lots of reasons. Maybe they’re thinking about buying the property or renting it out to someone. Or they might be a city worker trying to make sure everything is safe and up to code.

The person doing the drive-by inspection will usually look at things like the outside of the building, the roof, and the yard. They might take notes or pictures to remember what they saw.

It’s important to remember that a drive-by inspection is not as thorough as going inside and looking around. So even if someone says a property looks good from the outside, there could still be problems on the inside.