Before the Home Inspection
Welcome to Avalon Home Inspections! You’ve most likely arrived on this page from the email you received the day before your Avalon Home inspection. The email provides you with confirmation of the date, time, and address of the home inspection.
Please ensure the following:
- You have signed the inspection agreement 24 hours prior to the day of the inspection.
- Payment has been made prior to the inspection. We accept credit cards, with a 3% convenience fee added. In addition, we accept personal checks, cash, and ZELLE. If you are paying by cash at the time of the inspection, please reply to the email to let us know this in advance.
Vacant or Occupied Home During the Inspection
Vacant Home
If the home is vacant, we recommend confirming with your realtor that the water, power, and gas are on. In addition, you should confirm that all shut-off valves and/or breakers are in the “on” position. Our insurance does not allow us to activate and shut down items or appliances.
Occupied Home
If the home is occupied, we recommend consulting with your realtor and/or the seller(s) to ensure that the attic is accessible with any personal belongings removed from access locations. Personal belongings should also be removed from areas surrounding major appliances (HVAC and Water Heaters), crawl space accesses, electrical panels, etc.
If personal belongings are present in these areas at the time of inspection, these items and areas will be inspected as best as we can from visible portions, as personal items are not moved for the sake of accessibility.
Addendum to your Contract
There is language available that can be used as an addendum to your purchase contract that will ensure this is done. The language is as follows:
A. In addition to Seller’s obligation under this agreement to have all utilities, services, and other items operational during all inspections, Seller will also ensure that the crawl space, garage, and/or attic areas will be accessible and free of debris and/or personal articles. B. If anything is unable to be tested and/or inspected during any of the inspections because Seller did not have the utility services and other items operational, and as a result Buyer’s inspections that were paid for by buyer were unable to be performed, then Seller agrees to ensure that the utility services and other items will be operational during any follow up inspections, and the Seller will pay for any and all fees incurred by buyer in order to have the non-functioning items re-inspected.
The Home Inspection
Scheduling of Inspections
Home inspections are scheduled for either 9 am or 1 pm each day. The arrival time for 1 pm inspections can vary between 12 pm and 1 pm.
You Are Welcome to Attend the Inspection
You are encouraged to attend the inspection for a recap on the deficiencies found with the home. We know you will have great questions to ask, but please save those questions for the beginning or end of the inspection. This allows us to do a thorough inspection.
Length of the Inspection
Inspections typically last between 2 – 3 hours based on the age, size, and condition of the home. If the home is over 4,000 square feet, an additional inspector is added to the inspection.
Fungal Growth and Testing
If visible fungal growth (possible mold) is found during the inspection, we can take surface samples of the growth and send these sample(s) to the lab you desire. Please note the cost of surface sampling is $125 for the first sample and $50 for each additional sample.
Indoor Air Quality Testing
Indoor air quality testing can also be conducted if a musty smell is present in the home. These services will be accompanied by an additional agreement and report, and vary in price starting at $249. More information about mold testing can be found here.
Post Inspection
Inspection Report
You will receive the inspection report the evening of the inspection. This will arrive by email and there will also be a link to the invoice for your records. The software that we use to prepare inspection reports has several tools available to help you communicate any concerns with your realtor.
The inspection report will contain a lot of information and typically consists of 65 – 90 pages and up to 100 photos and diagrams. We provide this much information, not in an attempt to overwhelm you, but to give you as much information about your potential home that we possibly can. Note that It is not uncommon for us to find 30 or several more defects with a home.
Sample reports can be viewed to show you what to expect.
Lastly, our team of client care coordinators and inspectors are available to answer any questions you may have about the information in the inspection report or about your home after moving in.
Thank you for choosing Avalon Home Inspections. We look forward to serving you!
