This will be the shortest post to date. There just isn’t much we don’t do. To sum it up we inspect nearly everything. For instance, most homes have one garage therefore we always include that. Furthermore, when the property has more than one garage, a barn, or even a second home, we absolutely will inspect those at a reasonable cost.

Do you inspect everything in the home? The short answer is yes… with a few exemptions that sometimes come up. We do not inspect built-in speaker or intercom systems, alarm systems, or anything that may be unsafe. We do not light fires in natural fireplaces, wood stoves… Our insurance company would have a fit!!! We can’t be liable for any potential for a chimney fire. As a volunteer firefighter I enjoy a controlled fire and a bit of education… here’s a video done by a chimney sweep that’ll for sure get you to clean your chimney on a regular basis! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_-Rh_eDse4

Gas fireplaces are tested as long as they meet modern safety standards. We aren’t going to light a death trap where you turn the gas on and throw a match in. Yes, this is a thing we’ve found!!!

We will inspect the exterior of the home, the garage, and any additional buildings that have been added are inspected. This includes the grading and vegetation that may affect the structure(s). We do not survey or mark property lines. I have written a post about what is included! https://www.michiganpro.com/inspection-expectations/

What others are saying

With a quick online search, I also found “8 Common Things not Included in a Home Inspection”. Keep in mind MichiganPro Home Inspections actually includes or can add on 5 of the 8 common items not included by most inspectors!

https://americanlifestylemag.com/real-estate/buying-selling/8-things-not-included-in-a-home-inspection/

Destructive Testing

Lastly, we do not do anything “destructive”. We mostly inspect homes you do not own yet. Therefore we do not cut, drill, or damage anything in order to inspect. We leave the home how we found it.

Our Standards https://www.michiganpro.com/standards-of-practices/

For your information, I’ve attached a couple of links to show our standards follow those of the professional organization “NACHI”. The inspection is not invasive; meaning we leave the home the way we found it and do not cut, drill, or alter the home in any way to inspect. https://www.nachi.org/sop.htm

Tools make the difference!

Also, one way to know you’ve found a pro is by what he brings to the job! Does he show up with just a small tool kit; flashlight, ladder, and screwdriver… or… is he a pro? Someone who takes inspecting seriously will bring value to your inspection with the arsenal of tools he brings. Our inspectors all have more tools that you might believe will fit in their vehicles.

As you’ll see we bring the whole gambit! For example, we bring moisture meters, fiberoptic cameras, thermal imaging cameras, sewer cameras, a short and tall expandable multi-position ladder, a plethora of hand tools to access electrical panels, furnace service panels, water heater burn chambers, and more. Furthermore, we bring tools to dig up and open septic tanks, augers to take samples over septic fields, sampling equipment for indoor air quality, media for mold samples, radon test kits, water testing kits, shipping kits to overnight samples, PPE and other safety equipment… and on and on!!! As I list out all the equipment it actually leaves me wondering how they fit in the vehicle to drive.

So what do we inspect?

Nearly everything! It’s actually easier to go over what we don’t inspect, so here’s the list of things that may be in the home that we do not inspect. Alarm systems, and wired speaker/intercom systems. We inspect the entire exterior of the home and garage, and the grading, decks/patios, paved driveways, and sidewalks. As a result, every system of the interior, every room, attic (if accessible), the crawlspace, and/or basement… everything inside and out the roof to the foundation will be inspected.

What else?

In order to be the most qualified inspectors available, our inspectors have a commercial pest control license from the Michigan Department of Agriculture, and they are all certified mold inspectors. Moreover, our home inspections all include a full termite, mold, and pest inspection at no additional cost. Seriously, we are already there looking in every nook and cranny, so why not?

More questions?

For more information call us at 800-470-7938

Or submit a web request at https://www.michiganpro.com/contact/

We often get asked in one way or another if we’ll “fail” a home or parts of a home inspection. We inspect homes and commercial buildings in all sorts of conditions. We’ve inspected abandoned homes and multi-million dollar homes with a private boat slip. We see everything you can imagine… and a lot more! You’d be wise to wonder what our perspective is after seeing so much.

Our Point Of View

You hire us to inspect, document, and report. We do this with great detail and find things most wouldn’t… but we don’t decide what fails. That’s up to you as our client. We report on what we find, document things that are damaged, not working, unsafe, improperly installed, and more!

Often we can help figure out if repair/replacement of an issue may be a big or costly undertaking. You decide if the home passes or fails your expectations and tolerance for repairs. Personally, I’ve bought and lived in two “fixer-uppers” that I’m guessing the vast majority of people wouldn’t want to tackle.

You Decide!

We will get you very detailed information and a deep look into all systems of the home. The report will be concise and have pictures of every issue we find.

We let our clients decide what’s right for them. We’ll only spend a few hours together and we won’t be asking about your financial status, likely won’t know your short and long-term goals… So what kind of inspector would we be to decide what “fails” your expectations and needs?

We Are Here For You

We know the task of deciding may be daunting, but we don’t report and leave you hanging. We help answer questions sometimes years after we inspect a home. We are always a call, text, or email away. Whether you have questions about the inspection, report, testing, or any system of the home, we’ll get answers. Our administrative staff, inspectors, and our owner are all accessible!

A very common question these days is “Can I be there during the inspection?”. Yes! Please! If at all possible it’s great if you can be at the inspection. We also absolutely understand if you can’t make it.

There are a few easy guidelines to help your inspector stay on track and complete your inspection with the utmost detail. First, you can be a help or a distraction to the inspector. It’s great to have more than one set of eyes on things! Our inspectors work through a process and system to inspect homes in order to thoroughly inspect all systems. Questions are great, but if they are inspecting the furnace and their attention is pulled away by questions about the electrical panel… well, I’m sure you can see how this can slow the process and potentially reduce some detail in the report.

Our inspectors all want your questions and observations! As they progress through the inspection they’ll review and see if you have questions periodically, and at the conclusion of the job. Actually, they’ll still be available after the inspection, and take the time to review your questions from the report as well. There’s just no chance that you’ll have unanswered concerns or questions.

What if I’m not at the inspection?

This will also work out great and we’ll address all of your questions and concerns. All specific questions will be noted when your job is booked. If you’d like we can also attach files, or copy questions from email; admin@michiganpro.com.

Another plus is your report will have pictures of everything talked about! Our average report is 70-100 pages with all the details in the narrative and pictures. Your report won’t just talk about what we find, we’ll also SHOW you what we found.

Your inspection report will have many pictures included. If you can’t make it, you may find that it feels as if you were with all the photos. You’ll likely see every angel of every room in the home!

If I’m not there, how will I know what happened?

If you have a short timeline and want a basic rundown of what the inspector found he’ll call you as soon as practical after the inspection. Also, whether you are at the inspection or not you’ll have the full Inspection Report no later than the day after the inspection.

I have limited time available, when should arrive?

This is easy; at the end! When scheduling we can estimate the total time the inspection will take. We will give you the best ETA to show up. The inspector will review his findings, answer your questions, show you some of the items, and answer your questions.

Well, here we go with a massively broad question. Not so hard to answer once we narrow down what’s going to be included in your inspection package, but as a matter of planning for your schedule, we really do need to break it down. Of course, we want to be respectful of the schedules of our clients, the seller who generally leaves the home during the inspection, and your realtor who may be present. That said, the inspection will also take as long as it needs to. Our inspectors all use a system or process to inspect and stay on track, get a very high level of detail, and address questions.

Home Inspections

https://www.michiganpro.com/services/ We do home inspections that are anything from a 600 square foot cabin on a slab foundation, all the way up to multi-million dollar properties spanning over 15,000 square feet. This being true, our average inspection is likely 1,700-2,200 square feet.

The typical “move-in ready” home around 2,000 square feet will take the inspector about 2.5 hours to inspect. This includes about 10 minutes for the inspector to sum up some of his findings with you on-site. Of course, the inspector is available by phone to review and answer questions as needed… just a phone call away.

*Many things can add time to the inspection; furniture and other belongings taking up a good deal of space, large attics and crawlspaces, mold, and additional services added to the home inspection base package. Lastly, the “unexpected” time vacuums sneak in on occasion.

Services that will add time to a home inspection.

• Mold testing: 10-45 minutes (lab turnaround time is 1-2 business days). https://www.michiganpro.com/michigan-mold-inspection-and-mold-testing/
• Radon testing: 5-10 minutes (plus a return trip to pick the kit up, and a lab turnaround time of 3-5 days) https://www.michiganpro.com/radon-air-quality-testing/
• Water quality testing: 5-10 minutes (lab turnaround time is typically 2-3 days) https://www.michiganpro.com/well-load-test-inspections/
• Well and Septic inspection: 30-60 minutes (depending on if there’s an above ground tank access) https://www.michiganpro.com/septic-tank-inspection/
• Sewer line camera inspection15-25 minutes (longer if cleanout is difficult to access)

Stand alone Mold Inspection

Let’s start with an “average” 1,800 square foot home that has no “major” issues and you’ve called us because of some sort of suspicion of mold due to allergic symptoms. Up to 90 minutes would be a good average with some testing being done. We’ll inspect the exterior and interior of the home for the visible presence of mold, and any conducive conditions (things that may cause or lead to mold).

*Know mold issues going on? Leaks, water infiltration through the foundation, moldy attic, rot? Most often, this will take more time and will likely be 90+ minutes.

Mold cleanup? We stay independent from the cleanup process just reputable mold remediators stay independent from the testing process. No conflict of interest! We have had many of our clients tell us they have had a good experience with Elliot Environmental. https://michiganmoldspecialist.com/

Stand alone Well and Septic Inspection

As a stand-alone service, we’ll need 60-90 minutes if everything goes well… and the tank is marked prior to our arrival. The seller (or if it’s your home, you) should mark the tank or have a drawing available if there isn’t above-ground access. Can we locate tanks if it isn’t marked and no one really knows where it is? Yes… most of the time. We locate the vast majority of tanks, but not always. This is why they should be marked or a drawing/map should be made available.

Environmental, Single System, and Atypical Inspections

A minimum time block for anything is in general 60 minutes. We inspect roofs, remodeling, and anything else as needed to be an independent 3rd party set of eyes to follow up and see if the project has loose ends or items that could have been done better/differently.