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Maintenance Inspection
Pre-Listing Inspection

Anyone selling their home needs to get a home inspection – it’s inevitable. But getting one before listing your property puts you ahead of the game. Addressing any deficiencies in the home before buyers find them helps increase the value of your home and reduce the time it’s on the market.

 

As a seller, a home inspection:

  • Alerts you of safety issues prior to potential buyers visiting your property

  • Ranks and prioritizes deficiencies

  • Allows you to make any necessary repairs

  • Assists in property evaluation

  • Makes a property more appealing to potential buyers

  • Provides an unbiased assessment of the property before negotiations begin

  • Helps avoid renegotiations during the selling process

  • Reduces the risk of potential buyers walking away because there is no time for a home inspection

 

In a home, very few things are maintenance free. Proper and on-going maintenance of a home’s structural and mechanical systems is essential to increasing its value over time.

Maintenance inspections should be done every three to five years to identify and monitor certain conditions and components. For example, regular inspection of the roof gives a homeowner enough time to find the right contractor and get several quotes before a minor repair becomes an emergency.

 

As a homeowner, a maintenance inspection:

  • Provides a blueprint for your home maintenance plan

  • Ranks and prioritizes any deficiencies a home may have

  • Offers advice and recommendations for approaching repairs

  • Helps extend the life of a home’s many components

  • Can assist in reducing energy consumption costs

  • Helps homeowners avoid major repairs down the road

 

 

Before taking ownership of your newly constructed home you will walk through the house with your builder. But an independent inspection completed by a qualified home inspector often uncovers deficiencies overlooked by the builder’s inspector – sometimes even municipal inspectors.

If caught early, the builder can correct these deficiencies before you move in, so your home is the way it's supposed be the moment you move in.

 

As a homeowner, a Pre-Delivery New Construction Inspection:

  • Ensures your newly constructed home is complete and ready for possession

  • Highlights health and safety issues

  • Helps ensure deficiencies are corrected under the New Home Warranty Program or at the builder’s expense

  • Creates a deficiency list that can be used to correctly fill out homebuilder warranty forms

  • Prioritizes deficiencies and offers recommendations for approaching repairs

 

Getting a Pre-Purchase Inspection is just smart. It reduces the risk of unexpected and costly surprises, and helps you feel completely comfortable with your home purchase decision. Also, many clients have saved thousands of dollars during renegotiations based on report findings, others have avoided purchasing a "money pit" , and many have confirmed that the home is exactly what they want.

 

As a buyer, a home inspection:

  • Alerts you of any deficiencies or safety issues

  • Ranks and prioritizes any deficiencies a home may have

  • Provides tips and recommendations for correcting deficiencies

  • Additional articles relevant to information contained in the report (i.e. removing mold, reducing heat loss) for further education.

  • Can assist in acquiring financing and insurance

New Construction Inspection
Pre-Purchase Inspection

Our Services/Price

 

Home inspection reports include the following:

Exterior: This visual examination of the home's exterior. Our inspector will check the areas surrounding the home: Driveway, sidewalks, porches, decks and patios.

Structure: Structural components, including the foundation and walls of the home, as well as other outer features, like doors, windows and steps. The inspection of the outside may uncover cracks in the foundation, rotted joists (a building's horizontal support), or missing siding.

Roofing: The inspector will also look at the roof, its drainage systems, the chimney and the skylights. This part of the inspection will document any flaws such as missing or damaged tiles, worn-out shingles, and rusted or damaged gutters.

Plumbing: The plumbing system in a home does more than just allow you to take a shower or wash the dishes; it also removes wastewater and gases from the interior of the home. In addition to looking for leaky or corroding pipes, the inspection will examine the water supply and drainage, hot-water-heating equipment and the fuel storage system.

Electrical: From overheated wires to double taps in the main panel box, our electrical inspection evaluates the interior of service panels, the breakers and fuses, and the main disconnects. We also inspect outlets and fixtures for proper wiring.

Cooling and Heating:  This portion of the inspection examines the heating ventilation and cooling (HVAC) systems. If the house has wall air conditioners or central air, our inspectors look at the cooling system's energy source, age and condition of equipment. We also take temperature readings to determine if the system is cooling or heating properly.

Ventilation: We will examine the home insulation and mechanical or passive ventilation, searching for signs of moisture in the attic or crawl space. We are also looking for loose insulation or an attic without insulation.

Interior: Our inspection of the interiors covers all visible signs of water damage, such as water stains or damage to the ceilings, walls and floors.

Appliances: We will also check that your major appliances are functioning properly -- dishwasher, range and oven, washer and dryer -- as well as the smoke detectors.

Inspections are emailed as well as printed on site same day and contain colored pictures and commentary.

 

Options: Add on a mold testing and/or radon test to any complete home inspection and save on these services.

 

Mold Sample Testing

A visual mold inspection is included in every complete home inspection.

Why Mold test?

Mold may be growing in your home and impacting your family’s health and quality of life.  Mold growth may be visible or hidden out of sight. Not all mold growth is discernable to the naked eye.  Mold typically grows on moist or water-damaged building materials. 

 

 

Moisture control is the key to mold control. Molds need both food and water to survive; since molds can digest most things, water ishe factor that limits mold growth. Molds will often grow in damp or wet areas indoors. Common sites for indoor mold growth include bathroom tile, basement walls, areas around windows where moisture condenses, and near leaky water fountains or sinks. Common sources or causes of water or moisture problems include roof leaks, deferred maintenance, condensation associated with high humidity or cold spots in the building, localized flooding due to plumbing failures or heavy rains, slow leaks in plumbing fixtures, and malfunction or poor design of humidification systems. Uncontrolled humidity can also be a source of moisture leading to mold growth, particularly in hot, humid climates.

 

Testing of environmental samples for mold content  The cost of such sampling depends upon the lab fees, which depend upon the number of samples, turn-around time, and nature of the analysis, typically ranging from $60 for a tape lift mold sample. 

 

 

Radon Testing

 

Living in a home with elevated levels of radon is very dangerous. Long-term exposure to high concentrations of radon has been linked to hundreds of deaths in Michigan every year.

What is Radon?

Radon is a colorless, odorless, naturally occurring, radioactive noble gas that is formed from the decay of radium. Radon gas is one of the heaviest substances that remains a gas under normal conditions and is considered to be a health hazard.

Radon is a significant contaminant that affects indoor air quality worldwide. Radon gas from natural sources can accumulate in buildings, especially in confined areas such as the basement. It can be found in some spring waters and hot springs.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, radon is reportedly the second most frequent cause of lung cancer, after cigarette smoking; and radon-induced lung cancer the 6th leading cause of cancer death overall. According to the same sources, radon reportedly causes 21,000 lung cancer deaths per year in the United States. Because of this, radon mitigation systems can be life-savers.

 

Our Inspectors will perform a preliminary short-term radon test where a testing device is placed in your home for approximately 5 days.

The results from this short-term test will indicate average radon levels in your home during the test period and the duration recommended for long-term testing.

 

Radon Testing Protocols

  • Keep all windows closed at all times

  • Keep all exterior doors closed, except when entering and exiting the home

  • Keep heating and air conditioning systems operating at their normal settings

  • Do not operate wood stoves, fireplaces, exhaust fans or whole-house fans

  • Do not touch or move radon detectors

pre listing
pre purchase
maintenance
new construction
mold testing
radon testing
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