Home Maintenance Inspections

A home maintenance inspection is essentially the same as a standard home inspection, but the inspection is done for the current owner. Most of these homeowners have been in their homes for over five years, and they may or may not have had their home inspected at the time they purchased it. One small difference between a buyer’s inspection and a home maintenance inspection is that we don’t test the appliances during a maintenance inspection. Homeowners already know about every little funky issue with their appliances, they don’t need us to test out the burners on their stove for them. We do inspect the installation of the appliances though.

Another difference between a buyers inspection and a homeowner maintenance inspection is that we sometimes go a little ‘Mike Holmes‘ on the house by cutting into stuff or taking stuff apart that we wouldn’t normally do for a traditional home inspection. While a traditional buyers inspection is subject to a purchase agreement with standard language saying it’s a non-invasive inspection, we don’t have those kinds of limitations with a maintenance inspection. Usually, the homeowner is right there with us for the maintenance inspection. If a homeowner wants to open up a wall to have us check something out while we’re there, they can do that.

Home inspectors enjoy getting to the bottom of stuff like this, and homeowners appreciate the extra work involved to get to the bottom of questions. Win-win. Everyone’s happy and the inspector sleeps better at night.

Why get a Maintenance Inspection?

Think of a maintenance inspection as a checkup visit to the doctor or dentist that need only happen every five years or so. A maintenance inspection will help to prioritize a home improvement list and to hopefully find out about small problems before they turn into big ones. In some cases, a maintenance inspection will reveal that what was thought to be a small problem has already turned into a big one.

A maintenance inspection also gives homeowners a chance to have a professional home inspector answer questions with a completely unbiased viewpoint.

“Is it normal for the lights to dim like this when the AC turns on? Is my deck still safe? Can I leave that buried fuel oil tank in the yard when I sell? My roofer said the roof should be replaced; does it really need replacement this year, or can it wait? Should I invest in new windows or more insulation in the attic?”

The home inspector isn’t there to sell anything. We’re just there to give unbiased, accurate information.

What about a-la-carte / single item inspections?

When someone has a specific problem with their house that they want to get to the bottom of, or they just have a few particular issues that they want to have addressed, I call it an a-la-carte or single item inspection. We do a lot of those, but the price of a troubleshooting inspection for a particular issue is typically about half the price of a full inspection. In most cases, we end up doing full inspections because a homeowner is dealing with a persistent problem that nobody can get to the bottom of. The owner has been meaning to have several things looked at by various professionals, and this is the owner’s chance to get it all done at once in a matter of hours.

At most single item inspections, we end up walking past a number of other major concerns that jump out at us… does the owner know their downspouts drain right against the house? does the owner know they’re missing kick-out flashing and water is probably pouring into the wall behind the siding every time it rains? does the owner know their dryer vent is clogged and creating a fire hazard? … but we usually try to keep our mouths shut unless it’s a safety issue, and even then, it needs to be brought up tactfully.

If you have a persistent problem with your home that you want to get to the bottom of, you want help prioritizing repairs, you’d like to know the overall condition of your house, or you’d like to get an unbiased opinion on home improvements, give us a call to schedule a home maintenance inspection.

Written By

Reuben is a second-generation home inspector with a passion for his work. He grew up remodeling homes and learning about carpentry since he was old enough to hold a hammer. Reuben grew up thinking he was going to be a school teacher because he enjoyed teaching others so much. In a sense, that’s a lot of what home inspections are about, so Reuben truly does what he loves. Sharlene has worked with Structure Tech since 2000 and Reuben has been contributing to her blog since 2008.

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