We are America’s Inspectors

What Happens at the inspection

OK, lets look at this closer.

Square footage of property

The first general rule of thumb is 2500 square feet is 250.00, 3000 square feet is 300.00, 4000 square feet is 400.00 and so on.

Foundation type

Properties with a pier and Beam or all Pier foundation are charged more than properties with slab foundations, the reason why is that the inspector  is going to crawl under the house beneath the floors that you have in the interior. This small space can be 14” tall or less in some cases.  The average person is about 10” in width, lying flat. The inspector will be inspecting the foundation, flooring supports, plumbing and any electrical wiring. A 2000 square foot house can have a crawlspace that looks like it is as big as a football field, have mice, roaches, spiders, snakes, standing water, exposure to asbestos materials, exposure to pest control chemical, have low oxygen levels, be muddy, have exposed wiring lying in the ground and be pitched black with no light. it can take anywhere from 30 mins. to 1 hour and a half to transverse the entire crawlspace and it’s typically hard on your body and difficult to take pictures while in cramp spaces. For this type of foundation most all inspection companies charge 75.00 to 150.00 depending on the square footage of the crawlspace area. With slab foundation there is no additional charge.

Age of the property matters

A home less than 10 years old will typically not have issues with every turn and the inspection can go a lot quicker than a home 20 years old. A home 30 years old can have even more issues than on 20 years old, it’s just because of the fact that things wear out, code changes, standards in construction changes, there be more issues to report and consider as the property is inspected. So, many inspection companies add 25.00 to 75.00 depending on the age of the house. 

Get a free quote to compare

Please feel free to call to get more information or a quote for your property inspection at our office. our office can be reached at 972-412-6656 between 9:00 and 5:00 Monday thru Saturdays. After hours calls will be returned ASAP or next day at 9:00 AM.  You can email for any after hours or weekend assistance.  See “contact us” above.

This is what you can expect from our inspector

• 1. Punctual service - your inspector will arrive at least 10 minutes early and begin preparing for the inspection.
• 2. Availability - your inspector will be very absorbed in examining every detailed items, but will be more than willing to answer any questions you may have.
• 3. The inspector will walk around and through the structure with you to help you understand everything.
• 4. The inspector will be personally pointing out any information that you need to know or may want to know.
• 5. The inspector will give you all of his or her personal attention for concerns that you the client have about any item.
• 6. The inspector will point out any problem areas of the structure encountered during the inspection, and possible remedies to those problems.
• 7. Computer generated report - a professional report, covering all items from the standards of practice of the Texas Real Estate Commission and the higher standards of the American Association of Professional Inspectors, details of all systems in the structure (foundation, plumbing, electrical, etc.)
• 8. The best service continues with the American Association of Professional Inspectors... Questions may arise hours or days later about any item; feel free to call for information or advice anytime.  We at the American Association of Professional Inspectors are always available for our clients!

Recommended list of items to bring to the inspection

• 1. The most important is “you and your significant other”.
• 2. Tape measure - to find out if your refrigerator will fit in the allotted space, measure for a new refrigerator or take measurements for your renovation ideas. You may want to measure room sizes, floors, door openings and windows.
• 3. Carpet swaths and paint color strips - changing carpet textures and color will be easily accomplished and wall color matching can go smoothly. With some planning, you could have a carpet company there to measure and give you an estimate of cost of new floor covering.
• 4. Pad and pen - miscellaneous notes about priority repairs can help in the time after the inspection in hiring vendors and specialists to get your home into shape.
• 5. Camera - spot pictures can help identify and clarify necessary repairs or further your own renovation ideas.
• 6. You may want to plan to have your favorite handyman, flooring guy or painter there to give you estimates of cost of remodeling and updating.
• 7. If your buying a bank owned property or you plan to renovate the property, bring your general contractor and be prepared to discuss all and any details with your contractor.  It's good to get a full scope of the renovation and cost before your option period ends.

Here’s what happens at the Inspection

Our inspector will turn all the lights and fans on the highest settings, set the oven to 350 degrees, set the dishwasher to normal and start the cycle, set the thermostat to the highest setting for heat and the lowest setting for cool, open and close all accessible windows, turn on all the plumbing fixtures and have them all running at the same time. While the property is at full electrical load he will remove the electrical panel cover and carefully examine the circuits, breakers, connections, wiring, check for any overheating or improper wiring, all circuits will remain on for a extended period of time. All plumbing fixtures will be running water and commodes will be flushed repetitively for a extended period of time. The inspector will set up a ladder at any single story access point of the roof and take pictures while walking the roof, pictures will be taken of all defects of the roof. The inspector will access any safe access to the attic and take pictures of any visible defects, such as insulation, roof supports, overlay materials, decking problems, signs of leaks, improper venting of any gas appliances or plumbing areas. If the HVAC unit is in the attic the inspector will closely examine the heat exchange, all condense drains, any health or safety concerns and look for any defect that may effect the operation. The heating and cooling systems may be switches back and forth to cycle the HVAC system thru multiple checks of operation and to check for airflow. The appliances are checked for proper operation and installation. The lighting, fans and random checking of room outlets are check for proper operation and any safety hazards. After a reasonable period of time the oven is checked for calibration of 350 degrees and the broil function is checked, all burners are check at the same time at highest setting and all safety and proper operation. All doors, walls, ceilings and floors are checked and pictures are taken of any defects of operation and performance. the inspector will make a study of the foundation, closely examining all and any signs of problems and indication of past or current problems. The inspector will take in consideration all the finding of the interior and exterior in analyzing the condition of the foundation. Our inspectors can typically find some indications of past foundation repairs and make our clients aware of those signs. I some cases our inspectors will find indications of possible damaged or broken lines beneath the slab that most all other inspection company either pay no attention to or are unable to detect because of a lack of training or experience.  Once the inspector finishes the on site report he will print the report out on site, review the report in detail and answer any and all question you may have, the inspector will also be happy to walk the property with you and point out anything you may a question about. Our inspectors will spend as much time as you need on site as you may need.  Later the inspector will spend another one to one and half hours downloading the pictures he has taken, resizing those pictures and put them into the individual sections of the report, he will then finalize the report and email the report to you and your Realtor. Typically within about 2 hours of leaving the property. Of course there is a lot more that happens than this short description, but this gives you a good idea of the thoroughness of the inspection. Most average 2,200 sqft slab homes the inspector spends 4 to 5 total hours in the inspection, preparing the report, taking pictures and attending to the pictures and going over the report with our clients. The inspector will include his or her phone number so that you may contact the inspector directly should you have any questions. The day after the inspection you will receive a call from the inspectors office staff providing a courtesy call to make sure you were well taken care of and to see if there is anything we can do to help in any way. We'll also call your Realtor to make sure they are taken care of and answer any question they may have.  We are happy to provide any assistance you may need after the inspection forever. Do not hesitate in contacting us should you have any question that you think we could help you with. We consider you our client for life.

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