What to Expect Before, During, and After Your Home Inspection

BEFORE

You’ve most likely come to this page from the email you received confirming your inspection date, time, and address. Please ensure you have signed the inspection agreement by noon on the day prior to the inspection. Payment is also required prior to the inspection. If you’d like to pay with cash at the time of inspection, that is fine, and you can reply to the email that was sent to let me know. (Unfortunately, personal checks are no longer accepted.)

If the home is vacant, I recommend confirming with your realtor that the water, power, and gas are on. Please also confirm that all shut-off valves and/or breakers are in the on position, as my insurance does not allow me to activate and shut down items or appliances.

If the home is occupied, I recommend consulting with your realtor and/or the seller(s) to ensure that the attic is accessible and that any personal belongings are 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.

There is language available that can be used as an addendum to your purchase contract to 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, 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 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.

Home inspections are scheduled for 8:30 a.m. daily, and my arrival time will be between 8:15 and 8:30 a.m. If you’re working with a Realtor, let them know I have SupraKey access and can access the home if present. If a combo box is present, I will need the code for entry. Also, let them know to schedule the Inspection in an app they use called ShowingTime as needed.

You are encouraged to attend the inspection around an hour and a half into the inspection (10 am or so). The first 60-90 minutes of my inspections are the most important as I’m heavily concentrating and evaluating the structure. I have a routine and system that is conducted in every home, and I must ensure I can look over everything thoroughly. You’re welcome to come earlier, but I ask that you please not shadow me and save any questions for the end of the inspection.

Inspections typically last between 2.5 to 4 hours based on the age, size, and condition of the home.

The initial confirmation email contained additional services that can be added to your inspection, including but not limited to Indoor Air Quality Testing, Radon Testing, Detached Structure Inspections, etc. If these services were not added to your inspection and you would like to have them performed, please reach out to me prior to the inspection.

You’ll receive your inspection report via email on the afternoon of the inspection.
Please be prepared for a lot of information in the report. I’m as thorough as possible on EVERY home inspection I perform. It’s not uncommon for me to find between 40 deficiencies (in well-maintained homes) and 80 or more (in older, neglected, and/or distressed homes).
Please feel free to contact me via text, email, or phone call with any questions whatsoever.
Lastly, you’ll receive review requests from my software after the inspection. If I could ask for your help, these reviews help me tremendously and are how I attain 80%+ of my business and provide for my family. I hope you will see the pride I take in my job, ensuring you understand the condition of the structure and its components.

Radon Testing is performed over a 48-hour period with a calibrated Corentium Pro Monitor. The testing results will be available immediately at the time of device collection. Any 48-hour averages of 4.0 pCi/L or greater are recommended to have a mitigation system installed for the safety of the occupants.
The Radon monitor will be set up either two to three days preceding your home inspection, allowing for results at the time of your home inspection, or will be set up during the home inspection and collected two business days afterward (dependent upon my schedule). If you have a preference for set up time (either before or during the inspection) please let me know and I’ll do my best to accommodate your request.
Typical weather conditions are needed for an accurate test. Standard rainfall events, flurries, and light winds are all acceptable. Strong thunderstorms and low-pressure storm systems can affect the test results. And if these conditions are expected the test will need to be scheduled around that.

Indoor Air Quality Testing consists of connecting an enclosed laboratory slide to an air pump that pulls 15 lpm (liters per minute) of air across the slide for 10 minutes, producing a 150 liter “sample.”
One such sample is taken on the exterior of the home, which is called the “control sample,” this sample is used as a baseline to compare the interior samples to.
Two interior samples (one per 1000 sq ft. of finished area) are taken indoors and are included in the base rate of $400 w/a home inspection, or $450 standalone. A $50 upcharge is required for each additional 1000 sq ft over the 2000 sq ft base.
At least two hours of no precipitation is required prior to the testing, and temperatures must be above freezing. The testing may need to be rescheduled if these conditions are not met.
The samples are shipped overnight to a laboratory in Florida where they are analyzed. A report is produced from the laboratory within two business days of testing that details the strains of mold found and in what concentration in parts per million (ppm). This will accompany a report from me documenting the testing locations and media, along with any applicable recommendations.

RepairPricer reports will be emailed directly from RepairPricer within 24 hours of the delivery of your inspection report. For Friday inspections the RepairPricer report will be sent on the following Monday.