Residential Home Inspections

A comprehensive analysis of the property and inspection of all major systems of the home including:

• Plumbing
• Heating and Air Conditioning
• Roofing
• Structural
• Electrical
• Interior/Exterior
• Garage
• Fireplace/Chimney
• Kitchen Appliances
• Bathrooms
• Laundry Hookups
• Jetted tubs
• Pool and Spa Inspection

Our inspection can identify damaged building components, non-functioning systems, safety issues and non-professional work.

 

Pool and Spa Inspections

Pool and spa safety is our primary concern and these bodies of water are what are known in the industry as an “attractive nuisance.” In other words, kids are drawn to them, and every year dozens of children drown because of easy access to the water. Even if you don’t have small children living in the home, you as a homeowner are still liable for neighboring children wandering into your back yard and falling into the pool.

Gates and barriers are so important in pool ownership. So is electrical safety. Anytime people, water and electricity come together you want to ensure that you’re protected from electrical shock. It takes a good deal of electronics for modern pool systems to function. We inspect those systems for safety and function.

Our pool/spa inspections include a comprehensive survey of:

• Electrical system, including lights and GFCI protection
• Self-closing, self-latching gates, as well as fencing
• Plumbing system, including pumps
• Heaters
• Filters
• Pool Decking and coping
• The pool/spa surfaces

Pre-sale or Listing Inspection

Before you put your home on the market, it would benefit you by knowing what, if any, significant conditions are present in the structure by having us perform the inspection. Discovery of any conditions through our inspection will allow you to then sit down with your real estate professional and determine if you need to make any repairs or corrections. Often a safety issue in the home can be easily remedied and even small repairs can make the difference in completing the sale.

In this difficult real estate market, many sellers list their house “as is,” meaning: “Here’s my price and I’m not fixing anything.” Buyers on the other hand will still hire their own inspector and very often ask for some repairs of the seller — or perhaps a credit back against the sales price.

As a proactive seller who makes some repairs, you will find a shorter list of conditions produced by the buyer’s home inspector. This means less sticking points in the negotiation of any repairs or credits. A pre-sale inspection by you the seller will cut down on post-inspection re-negotiations.

Without the pre-sale inspection, the typical scenario sees a buyer make an offer on the house. The seller accepts the offer. The buyer has a home inspection that may turn up 37 conditions, 5 of which are electrical safety concerns. The buyer sits down with their realtor and they produce a “request for repairs” for the seller — and the negotiations start all over again!

With a pre-sale inspection report in hand, you the seller are now in a position of strength. There are no surprises from the buyer’s inspection report. Our inspection is your disclosure report to the buyer, saying essentially: “We have had the house professionally inspected by Sterling Property Inspections, here is their report. These are the repairs we’ve chosen to make, and here is our price.”

One-Year Warranty New Home Inspection

You’ve purchased your dream home directly from the builder — it’s brand new and never been lived in. Very exciting! It’s new construction, there can’t be anything wrong with the house, right?

Perhaps not. But when you consider all of the building trades involved in the construction of a new home it’s also not realistic to believe that something was not overlooked or assembled in a less than professional manner. So while a new home can be dazzling in appearance, it takes a trained eye to look beyond the cosmetic finishes and see the defects. That’s where we come in.

Within that first year of living in the home, you are in a position of strength. Typical builder contracts cover most any component that fails up until the 12th month of ownership. Once that first year expires, the builder is most often responsible only for structural failure, depending on the language in your contract.

We recommend that you live in the home for nearly the full year, cataloging any needed repairs that you will present to the builder. Before your first year warranty expires, bring us in to do a full on inspection of all systems of the home. Present our inspection report findings to your builder who contractually bound to stand behind his work. We promise you that our inspection fee will pay for itself.

Our Fees

Our fees are based on the square footage of the home. Please call us for a quote.

Moisture/Mold Inspection

Please refer to the tab in our Main Menu titled “Moisture/Mold Inspection” for more information on this important service.

Manufactured/Mobile Home Inspections

We treat these inspections just as we would a single family residence, with the scope of the inspection and fees the same.

Commercial Building Inspections

Please visit our section in the main menu on Commercial Inspections. Please call us for a fee quote on your building at 949-295-7004

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What qualities constitute a good home inspector

Home inspectors must possess a solid combination of education, experience and detection skills. In addition to common construction knowledge, an inspector must recognize and evaluate various patterns of deterioration and wear affecting building structures and components. These conditions would not always be familiar to persons new to the inspection business.

An inspector must maintain an applied knowledge of building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and fire safety issues. When an item needs further investigation, repair or modification, you would be referred to a qualified technician in the appropriate trade, such as an electrician, a plumber or roofer, for ex.

What are the benefits of experience to the client?

Our experience brings a perspective to the reportable conditions we may find in the home so that you understand when a defect could be a financially costly correction — or an equally important but simple repair.

Our experience gives you the confidence that your questions will be respected and welcomed, and that you will receive a sound and knowledgeable response. And if we don’t have the information at hand, we will get you an answer!

Experience allows us to evaluate completed work and recognize what a proper job should look like. Seeing beyond the cosmetic surface is critical in determining the quality of work.

Experience allows us to evaluate completed work and recognize what a proper job should look like. Recognizing conditions beyond the finished surface is vital to determining quality of work.

There is no substitute for experience. Only you can decide if it is worth the risk to hire a less experienced inspector in order to save a few dollars on the fee.

TO SCHEDULE YOUR INSPECTION PLEASE CALL:   800-279-1950