A home inspection is an objective examination of the visible structure and systems of a home, from the roof to the foundation. Think of it as getting a physical from your primary care doctor. We do a thorough going-over of the house, and if problems or symptoms of a problem are found, we may refer you to a specialist. Though we’re more likely to recommend a licensed plumber than an ear, nose, and throat doctor.

With a few exceptions, a home inspection includes pretty much everything we can see in and on the house. We follow the Standards of Practice set by the State of Maryland, as well as the Standards of Practice set by the American Society of Home Inspectors, the oldest and most respected non-profit, professional organization of home inspectors in North America. Briefly, it includes a visual inspection of the condition of the home’s heating system, central air conditioning system (temperature permitting), interior plumbing and electrical systems; roof, attic, and visible insulation; walls, ceilings, floors, windows and doors; foundation, basement/crawlspace, and the visible structures of the home.

We don’t have x-ray vision…yet. Until we do, we are limited to what is visible and accessible. Some things like items hidden behind finished walls and underground septic systems are permanently concealed and always excluded. Sometimes items that are normally included in an inspection might be excluded also if they aren’t visible and accessible. A good example of this is a roof that is covered with snow.

To continue the doctor analogy from a previous question, a home inspector must also “do no harm.” This means we cannot do invasive or destructive testing. No busting through a wall like the kool-aid man or starting a fire to see if the fire sprinklers work. It also means that we exclude an item if we consider it to be unsafe. Hungry grizzly bear in the crawlspace? Yea, we’re going to stay away and refer you to a specialist with a picnic basket.

Our primary concern is safety. Safety-related concerns are always what will get the most attention in our inspections. We’re also looking for issues that affect the performance, efficiency, and/or long-term viability of the home and its systems.

The type of things we are not looking at are purely cosmetic issues. As ugly as you think the curtains may be, they aren’t likely to physically hurt you.

No. Our role is to provide an objective examination of the current condition of the home. We don’t perform an appraisal, which determines market value, or a municipal inspection, which verifies compliance with building codes. We don’t “grade” the house in any way, we just describe its condition on the day of the inspection.

Another question in the same vein we’re often asked is some variation of “does the seller have to fix that?” We routinely find things that, in our opinion, absolutely should be fixed. But our report doesn’t compel or require anyone to do anything. We obviously think our recommendations should be followed, but they are just that; recommendations. We just provide the information. It is up to you to decide what to do with that information. That is where a good real estate agent can help navigate the negotiating process.

Well, it depends. The plain truth is we don’t know exactly how long an inspection is going to take until it’s done. There are several factors that are difficult to plan for. But generally speaking, the average house in our area (around 2,200 square feet) usually takes about 2 and a half hours. Though it is not uncommon for that time to differ by an hour or so in either direction.

There are the more obvious factors that affect the duration of the inspection like size/age/complexity of the home. Certainly a 10,000 square foot mansion is going to take longer to inspect than a small condo. But there are other factors as well. How many problems are there with the house? Is the house empty, or full of furniture and moving boxes? How much coffee did the inspector have that morning? (ok, that one is a joke.)

Another big factor is how many questions do you have? To which we hope the answer is, “A lot!” Even though it does add time to the inspection, we genuinely love answering questions and explaining things. It’s one of the reasons our inspections tend to last a little longer than some others, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. When you get down to it, our job is to educate you. So please, fire away! (Seriously, please ask questions!)

The short answer is no, you don’t have to attend the inspection, but there are a lot of benefits to attending, and we recommend you do. Attending the inspection allows you to observe us/our process. It gives you the opportunity to ask questions and learn first-hand about the condition of the home, how its systems work, and how to maintain them. And while we like to think our written reports are pretty easy to understand, there’s no substitute for the context and perspective that can be gained from seeing and discussing something in person with the inspector. Plus, attending the inspection allows us to do one of our favorite things, talk about houses with someone! Hope to see you there!

We know real estate transactions move quickly, especially in the negotiating stage, so we deliver our reports the morning after the inspection day, with the exception of Saturday’s inspection reports being delivered on Monday morning. We are aware that some of our fellow inspectors deliver their reports the same day, or even onsite at the inspection. We worry that our report would have to be a little too generic to do this. We tailor our reports and the wording of individual comments to each specific house, and we prefer to take a little time to make the report just right. We think you’ll like the result.

Curious what to expect from our report? Check out a sample report here.

Home inspection pricing can get a little complicated and is usually determined by a combination of factors. We price our inspections based on the square footage, contract price, and age of the home. Check out our Get a Quote page to get pricing for your specific house.

Please keep in mind that you get what you pay for. We’re aware that we’re not the cheapest inspectors in town, but we’re not the most expensive either. Most of our inspections fall in the $300-500 range, which is right on par with the average of other professional home inspectors in our area. We find that in most trades, hiring the “cheap” guy usually ends up coming back to bite you, and home inspection is no exception. Remember that we are primarily looking for safety concerns, so you want to be sure that your inspector has the knowledge and experience to do the job right.

A condo inspection is an “inside the walls” inspection of just the individual condo unit. When you buy a condo, you’re buying an individual unit within a larger building or complex. The exterior, roof, structure, and building-wide systems are the responsibility of the homeowner’s association and are therefore not included in a condo inspection. Condo inspections are less expensive than home inspections because of this reduced scope.

Home inspections generally last for several hours and there will be many things the inspector will want to show you and discuss with you throughout the inspection. For these reasons, it is best to avoid bringing children or other family members who may distract you. However, a lot of our clients have a friend or family member that is their go-to handy person or trusted adviser whenever something goes wrong with their house. In most cases, it makes sense to bring them along if they’re available.

We don’t want to regulate who attends the inspection. We’re ok with whomever you bring, so long as we are able to do our job without too much distraction, we are able to get your attention when needed, and everyone is being respectful of the house and inspection process.

Also, and hopefully this goes without saying, but please do not bring along any Yankees fans. ;) Go O’s!