Frequently Asked Questions

 Home Inspection

General

  • A Home Inspection is an essential part of the home-buying process. Without one, you don’t really know what you’re buying. It takes a trained professional to catch small defects and safety hazards that would go unnoticed by most home-buyers.

  • A Home Inspection is a visual inspection of the home. We utilize a mix of technology and experience to perform our inspections. We look at the home and all of it’s systems, as well as the immediately adjacent property to paint a picture of the home’s current condition, as it is on the day of the inspection. Everything that is included in the inspection is detailed in the Vermont Standards of Practice for Professional Property Inspections. There are some exclusions, which are detailed in our inspection agreement. After we conclude your inspection, you will receive a written report detailed our findings.

  • Comfortable clothes that you wouldn’t mind getting a little dirty. We will be in basements (some old, some wet, some with dirt floors) and tight attic spaces with exposed insulation.

  • Inspections typically take between two and three hours, however they can conclude in less time, and in the case of larger homes, can take longer. Additional services will add additional time as well.

  • It is our mission to provide expedient reports so that you can make timely decisions, and as such we make every effort to have the written report in your hands within 24 hours of the end of your inspection. Vermont state law requires us to have your report prepared and delivered to you within five (5) days of the inspection.

  • Only you, the Client. From there, it is up to you whom you share your written report with.

  • Please refer to the Vermont Secretary of State’s website for the complete Standards of Practice (SOP). We also keep copies of the Vermont SOP on hand for your convenience on inspection day, as well as include copies with your first invoice and final written report.

Attendance

  • It is important that you attend your inspection. We make every effort to accommodate your schedule, as well as the schedule of the seller. The inspection is as much about the written report, as it is about the conversation that we have while walking through and around your new home. By the end of the inspection, you should feel educated about the home and it’s many systems.

  • While we always encourage (and in fact, strongly suggest) that you attend the inspection of your new home, we understand that can’t always be the case. In the event that you can’t attend, we will conduct the inspection and write our report the same as any other, with the addition of a follow up call to go over the results and to ensure you understand what you’re looking at when you receive the written report.

  • Often, people bring friends and family along on the inspection for additional sets of eyes. The more the merrier, we say! But please remember that we will be inspecting all accessible areas of the house, and basements and attics can quickly become crowded as the number of people attending increases.

  • While we understand that the excitement of a new home isn’t just reserved for the parents, there can be dangerous aspects of a home inspection and therefore it is best not to bring children.

Property Types

  • We do inspect apartment buildings, however, at this time, we only inspect buildings with four or fewer units. We limit the number of units in order to provide the same price for all inspections. Please make sure to have the current tenants notified in advance of the inspection. If a tenant refuses to grant us access to their apartment on inspection day, we cannot inspect it.

  • Absolutely! However, condo inspections are limited to the condo you are purchasing, as well as the commons spaces shared among the association. We cannot inspect the other units within the association.

  • We do not currently offer commercial property inspections.

  • Detached Structure Inspections are intended for buildings that aren’t normally occupied, such as barns, studios, sheds, etc. However, we do include ADUs in our Home Inspection. Per Vermont law, an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) is allowed to be added to a single family home as long as certain conditions are met. ADUs are not to exceed 30% of the square footage of the primary, owner-occupied house. ADUs can be part of the main home, or in a detached structure (Detached Structure Inspection applies in this case). If, for example, an entire barn with the same square footage as the main home was converted into living space, it would not qualify as an ADU and therefore would cost a separate, standard Home Inspection fee.

  • New builds are not immune from defects and safety hazards. It is advised that Home Inspections be performed on all home purchases regardless of when the home was built.

 Radon Testing

  • National standards dictate that the minimum time necessary to record accurate radon levels in the air of your home is at least 46 hours. Due to our busy schedule, we often can’t retrieve our equipment until the third or fourth day of the test. However, because we use an industry-leading radon monitor instead of a test kit that needs to be sent to a lab for analysis at the end of the test period, we can analyze the results and prepare the report for you as soon as the day following the conclusion of the test.

  • It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

  • If you elect to have a Radon Test performed alongside a Home Inspection, you will receive your Home Inspection report first, followed by your Radon report a few days later.

 Final Walk-through Consultation

  • Yes, however a Final Walk-through Consultation is only as good as the information we are given beforehand. If we performed your Home Inspection, we will already have an idea of what to look for. If you do an inspection with another inspector, we can use the report from that to assist us in the Final Walk-through. A Final Walk-through Consultation is NOT a substitute for a home inspection.

  • The Final Walk-through Consultation is not meant to be a replacement for a Home Inspection. On a final walk-through, we provide a verbal report onsite instead of a written report that would normally accompany a Home Inspection.

 Payment

  • Payment is due at the start of the inspection appointment. Please come prepared.

  • We accept all major credit and debit cards, as well as cash, and check.