What is a Home Inspection

Home Inspection Process From Metro Property Inspection

One of the most common questions we are asked is, “What exactly do you all look at during a home inspection?”  Well we’ve put together our Home Inspection Video that explains the typical home inspection process.  As you will see in this video, the purpose of an inspection is to provide a prospective buyer (or seller) with all of the information they may need to determine whether or not to move forward with the sales process.  Our home inspections do not result in a “Pass or Fail” for any property.  The home inspection is is not a Code Compliance Inspection that might be performed by a local building inspector.  The home inspection report is not used to determine the Value of the home being inspected.  This Inspection is simply a snapshot in time describing the current condition of the home.

Home Inspection and other professions

It is very common for our inspectors to recommend that additional professions be engaged to address items discovered as part of this process.  An example would be if a leaking pipe was discovered, we would recommend evaluation and repair as necessary by a qualified plumbing technician.

It is very common for our reports to comment on where a home is in its spectrum of maintenance.  For example, for a home with a 15 year old water heater- we will comment that typical life expectancy has been reached.  We will recommend budgeting for a replacement water heater at this time.  Even though the water heater is properly operational at the time of inspection, it is a budgeting item that our buyers should be aware of.  This allows our buyers to be planful in budgeting for replacing this appliance.  It also eliminates the water heater from being a surprise should it fail in the short term.

Major Portions of a Home Inspection

In this home inspection video you will see that we spend a majority of our time focusing on the 5 Major Components of a home:

  1. Roof
  2. Structure (foundation)
  3. Plumbing
  4. Electrical
  5. HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning)

Commentary will also be provided, as a courtesy, on such items as loose outlets, missing hand rails and peeling paint.  These items are pointed out as a sort of starter or “honey do” list and should not be heavily factored into whether or not to move forward with your purchase.

Enjoy our animated video!

Home Inspection Video