RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL INSPECTIONS
When buying a home or building, your purchase agreement allows you to perform any number of inspections prior to closing. Your main pre-purchase inspection is one of the most important contingencies and since a home or commercial property is often one of the biggest investments one can make, the inspection can and should be more than just another stage in the process.
The goal should be to give you the peace of mind that the property you’re about to buy is a sound investment. Buyers who defer having a professional inspection often regret it, and the few hundred dollars it costs to hire an inspector is dwarfed by the costs that can be incurred by unforeseen repairs.​ Ask Walter Fielding...
(Don't Let This Happen to You)
The inspection is a means to know what you're buying and also a tool to help create a future plan for expenses, and can help identify where replacement items or upgrades may be needed. The scope of the inspection includes:
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Condition of the Interior
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Windows and Doors
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Appliances
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Roofing
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Air Conditioning
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Electrical
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Plumbing
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Insulation and Ventilation Components
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Siding / Wall Covering / Trim
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Exterior Components / Decking
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Foundation
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Lot and Drainage Components
Many issues discovered during the course of a property inspection are quite common, such as improper electrical wiring, worn roofing, inoperable windows, plumbing deficiencies, etc. Minor issues aside, it's critical to have a clear-eyed understanding of your property purchase so you can understand what you're buying, and have a sense of your future expenses.
SOME PHILOSOPHY
After thousands of inspections we've seen every possible structural configuration that a home or building can take. We also understand that in the inspection world ‘complacency’ is a four-letter word. The minute you don’t check something because you ‘know’ it’s fine.. that will very likely be the time you miss an issue with that something.
It’s not hard to do a sweep of a room or basement if you know what you’re looking for, but the question is can an inspector do that same sweep on every inspection consistently, keeping an open mind, and maintaining a heightened state of alertness. Athletes refer to this as ‘the zone’, and to answer the question, yes they can, and yes we do, and those are the mechanics of a good inspection.
We take pride in going the extra mile for our clients, or the extra few feet in a dark crawlspace. It can’t be overstated how far those few extra minutes, or that extra distance can go in assuring a thorough and accurate inspection. The times that some critical piece of inspection fodder is found by pushing one’s self past those few extra feet, or spending those few extra minutes are incalculable.
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We do this because we're guided by a sense of service to our clients to seek out and expel the things that might go bump in the proverbial night in your new home. For that reason when you talk with us during the walk-through portion of the inspection, you'll know that we are very much listening and want to know about any special concerns you have.
There is simply nothing in this world more important than the knowledge that we've done a complete and thorough job for you and your family.
OUR REPORTS
We like to think our approach to report-writing is a little different. In this day and age it's very common for home inspectors to do what they call "on-site" reporting, i.e, 80% of inspectors out there have software in their phone or tablet that "drops in" the photo of an item or concern into some software, which then generates a canned inspection comment, which you'll ultimately read and see in the report.
While we appreciate that an inspector's time is valuable, it's our humble belief that there's a time and a place for all things, and that during a home inspection, the inspectors' eyes should be where they belong, on the house. We use our precious time during the inspection to see, smell, and feel the goings on in your future home, and worry about writing the report when we're done with the inspection. It might take us a little longer, but this is how we believe a home inspection should be performed.
Though we use report-writing software, HD photography, thermal imagery, and all of the normal tools of the trade, our reports are specific, narrative-based, and custom written for each property. Again, it might take us a little longer, but we feel it makes all the difference in providing you with the best look at the inner-workings of your future new home. Suffice to say, we know your time is valuable, and we'll always have your report to you by the end of the day.
WHAT IS AN ASHI CERTIFIED INSPECTION?
