The Trace Home Inspection
The home buying process can be confusing and stressful. Not only do you need to consider things such as price and location, you also have to worry about whether the house itself has issues that could become costly surprises down the road.
As professional Home Inspectors, its our job to look for those problems for you. The Home Inspection is an unbiased, professional assessment of the condition of the house. It provides you with an expert opinion along with a professional report on the condition of the physical structure and various systems within a house.
Giving you an increased peace of mind on what is likely the largest purchase you'll ever make is our goal.
With every home inspection, we include a limited infrared scan of the home using advanced Infrared scanning technology. This helps us to locate possible areas of concern that are normally not visible with the naked eye. Many times we discover hidden moisture, electrical and plumbing problems that owners and occupants never knew about. Full home in-depth scans are available for an additional fee.
It is amazing what an IR camera shows, we can now see where insulation is needed or even where the builder failed to have it installed, it was installed improperly or may have been damaged or compressed from water leaks. The above image is a great example of missing insulation on a single story home located with a full home scan! The deep blue area on the ceiling is missing insulation; this areas was not accessible from the attic area.
In order to prepare the report, an inspector must conduct a visual inspection of the house. The home inspection process typically takes about 3 hours to complete on a typical home. This of course may vary, according to the size and condition of the home. We strongly encourage you to attend and we have found that most of our clients prefer to come towards the end of the inspection. This will give you a chance to ask questions and become familiar with the systems of the home in addition to letting you see the home without anyone pressuring you to hurry or to make a quick decision.
We will inspect all of the readily visible structural elements and major systems of the home. Items that will typically be included in an inspection are:
- Framing (structure)
- Exterior cladding/siding (Stucco, EIFS, AMSV, Log have an additional fee)
- Roof and attic
- Foundation
- Grading of soil
- Doors & windows
- Garage & garage doors
- Electrical system
- Plumbing system
- Heating and air conditioning systems
- Fireplace/Chimney
- Insulation
- Ventilation
- Kitchen
- Bathrooms
- Appliances (Built-in appliances only. Washers and dryers are not inspected)
- Swimming pools (We work closely with one of the best pool inspection companies in the area. Pool inspection require an additional fee)
Additional items and systems unique to a particular home can also be inspected, you just need to let us know in advance so the proper arraignments can be made if the item or system is outside our scope of knowledge and expertise. Additional fees will be required when other professionals are needed.
When the inspection is complete, we'll tell you of any problems that were discovered and discuss them with you. We'll tell you whether these are major issues or minor concerns. We'll point out any safety concerns we notice. We'll tell you how old things are where that's relevant, like your water heater and HVAC system. We'll identify anything that's near the end of its typical lifespan. We will also tell you about any routine maintenance that should be performed, as well as answer any questions you may have. You'll also receive a full written report of the inspection that will be emailed the day of the inspection.
Our goal is to discover and inform you of anything we find that might affect your purchase decision. Well tell you about any problems we find, and make repair recommendations. Well also inform you of what maintenance tasks are required to keep the home and its systems in top condition. Even though we are not doing Code Inspections, we are familiar with the various building codes used in cities like Brentwood, Columbia, Franklin, Hendersonville, Nashville, Murfreesboro, Spring Hill and most of middle Tennessee.
But I’m Buying a Starter House. I Can’t Afford to Hire the Best Nashville Tennessee Home Inspector.
Hogwash! If money is tight, how are you going to pay for the repairs that low-cost-real-estate-agent-dependent inspector fails to report? Here’s another secret: Your real estate contract usually obligates the seller to make repairs. The more problems your home inspector finds, the more money you’ll save. And if the house is a disaster, you might save financial ruin. It is less costly to hire us now rather than when your attorney tells you to hire us as an expert witness to help with your lawsuit.
Hiring the best home inspector doesn’t cost, it saves you money and brings you peace of mind. You’ll sleep better knowing that you are buying a safe and sound home. And it’s not that expensive. Our price is based on the size, location, age of the home and other factors. All homes are different so should the pricing for an inspection.
Yes, we also specialize in deck inspections! Did you know that about 75% of the decks that are on homes are not built or installed properly? Many are just waiting to collapse as we have seen too often on the nightly news.
