What To Expect Before Your Inspection
WHAT TO EXPECT BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER YOUR HOME INSPECTION
INSPECTION AGREEMENT & PAYMENT
You’ve most likely came to this page from the email you received confirming your inspection date, time, and address. Payment is also required prior to the inspection if NOT coming to the inspection. If you’re coming to the inspection, you can receive a 10% discount by paying with cash at the inspection. Our inspection agreement will need to be signed prior to the day of your scheduled inspection if NOT going to be present for the inspection, the agreement can be signed electronically through Authentisign and will be sent to your email address.
VACANT HOMES
If the home is vacant, I recommend confirming with your realtor that the utilities are on (water, power, natural gas or propane), as well as confirming that all shut-off valves and/or breakers are in the on position, as our insurance and the standards of practice do not allow me to activate or energize equipment that shut down or off. There is a re-inspection fee of $100 to go back out and inspect items that are off during the first inspection.
OCCUPIED HOMES
If the home is occupied I recommend consulting with your realtor and/or the seller(s) to ensure that the attic is accessible with any personal belongings removed from access locations. Personal belongings should also be removed from areas surrounding major appliances (HVAC and Water Heaters), crawl space accesses, electrical panels, etc. If personal belongings are present in these areas at the time of inspection, these items and areas will be inspected as best I can from visible portions, as personal items are not moved for the sake of accessibility.
OCCUPIED HOMES: ADDENDUM
There is language available that can be used as an addendum to your purchase contract that will ensure this is done. The language is as follows:
A. In addition to Seller’s obligation under this agreement to have all utilities, services, and other items operational during all inspections, Seller will also ensure that the crawl space, garage, electrical service panel and/or attic areas will be accessible and free of debris and/or personal articles.
B. If anything is unable to be tested and/or inspected during any of the inspections because Seller did not have the utility services and other items operational and accessible, and as a result Buyer’s inspections that were paid for by buyer were unable to be performed, then Seller agrees to ensure that the utility services and other items will be operational during any follow up inspections, and the Seller will pay for any and all fees incurred by buyer in order to have the non-functioning items re-inspected.
RETURN-TRIP COST
A return-trip to inspect items that were not accessible or ready will cost $100 or more depending on the location of the property because this is time taken away from inspecting another house.
What To Expect During Inspection
DURING YOUR INSPECTION
TIME OF INSPECTION
Home inspections are scheduled for either 9:00 am or 12:30 pm each day. The arrival time for 12:30 pm inspections can vary between 12pm and 1pm due to the age, size, or other conditions of my first inspection.
DISCUSSIONS, QUESTIONS, AND SAFETY MEASURES
You are encouraged to attend the inspection for a recap on the deficiencies found with the home, but if you do not attend, a phone conference can be scheduled for after the inspection to review the report. I just ask that you please save any questions for the end of the inspection as I have a routine and system that is conducted on every home, and I must concentrate to ensure I’m able to look over everything thoroughly.
DURATION
Inspections typically last between 2 – 4 hours based on the age, size, and condition of the home.
INDOOR AIR QUALITY TESTING
Indoor air quality testing can also be conducted if a musty smell is present in the home or moisture intrusion (typically from rain leaks or plumbing leaks) is found. These services will be accompanied by an additional agreement and report, and vary in price starting at $230.
What To Expect After The Inspection
INSPECTION REPORT
You will receive the inspection report the evening of the inspection by email (make sure you check your spam, sometimes reports go into the spam folder)
THOROUGH & DETAILED INFORMATION
The inspection report will contain a lot of information and typically consists of 30 – 50 pages and well over 30 photos and diagrams. I provide this much information, not in an attempt to overwhelm you, but to give you as much information about your potential home that I possibly can. It is not uncommon for me to find 20 or more defects with a home so do not despair if you get a long report because this is normal.