Prompt and Comprehensive Home Inspection Services
Whether you’re planning to buy a house, sell your home, or extend the lifetime of your residential property, a real estate inspection is essential. By identifying faulty systems, mold growth, and other issues of your property, you could protect yourself from costly repairs and poor investment decisions.
To ensure that you will get an extensive assessment of your home’s condition, turn to Integrity Inspection Group. Our home inspectors are extremely knowledgeable of the industry, and we are skilled in thoroughly inspecting residential properties in a timely manner.
Delivering the Most Comprehensive, Customer-Driven Home Inspections
We are committed to your satisfaction, safety, and health. Our home inspectors are professionally trained and nationally certified. They utilize state-of-the-art inspection processes and infrared technology to detect issues, both visible and invisible to the naked eye.
Mission Statement
Our team has a vision for your future home that is based on risk reduction. We want to increase your chances of making a sound real estate investment and make the entire process of buying a home easier and less stressful, we strive to provide a detailed home inspection.
10 Most Frequent House Problems
U.S. home inspectors were surveyed about the issues they most frequently encounter while inspecting a residential property. The following are the top results.
1. Improper Grading and Poor Drainage
Approximately 35.8% of the survey respondents said that they detected improper surface grading/drainage in the properties they assessed. Surface grading and drainage are responsible for another common household problem—water penetration in the basement or crawl space.
2. Improper Electrical Wiring
When asked what the home defect they most frequently encountered was, 19.9% of the survey respondents answered improper electrical wiring. This problem often results in insufficient electrical service, inadequate overload protection, as well as amateur, often dangerous, wiring connections.
3. Roof Damage
Even though only 8.5% of respondents reported this, Canadian Association of Home and Property Inspectors (CAHPI) members consider roof leakage as a problem they frequently encounter. Most of the time, this issue is caused by old or damaged shingles as well as improper flashing.
4. Heating Systems
Blocked chimneys, unsafe exhaust disposal, as well as broken or malfunctioning operation controls all fall under this category.
5. Poor Overall Maintenance
Not only inspectors but also novice homebuyers notice this problem. A poorly maintained home will usually have crumbling masonry, makeshift wiring or plumbing, broken fixtures or appliances, as well as cracked, peeling, or dirty painted surfaces.
6. Structurally Related Problems
Structural damage often results from problems in the other categories we have listed. Once a property sustains damage to structural components, the affected areas are usually foundation walls, floor joists, rafters, as well as window and door headers.
7. Plumbing
Plumbing issues might not be the #1 problem, but they still rank high on the list. The defects people usually encounter when it comes to plumbing are the existence of old or incompatible piping materials, as well as faulty fixtures and waste lines.
8. Exteriors
This problem refers to the flaws in a home’s exterior, including broken windows, doors, and wall surfaces. Even though they rarely have structural significance, they are usually the cause of water and air penetration. The most common reasons for these problems are inadequate caulking and weather stripping.
9. Poor Ventilation
Many homeowners seal their homes too thoroughly that instead of saving energy, they end up trapping excessive moisture inside their properties. The dampness could result in rotting and premature failure of both structural and nonstructural elements.
10. Miscellaneous
This category includes the primary interior components of a home, and often, the problems that fall under it are cosmetic in nature. Since there are not enough people who encounter this issue during the inspection, these problems do not have an individual rank in the survey.
Top Five Questions
A lot of people don't know exactly what a home inspector is going to do. It's a lot! A home inspector will inspect a long list of more than 1600 aspects of a home. ......Standards of Practice 1-2018.pdf We inspect everything from the roof to the foundation and everything in between. A better question is, What don't you check?
Although, the inspection is comprehensive, we are limited. For instance, we are restricted to a visual inspection. We can't cut a hole in somebody's wall or pull up carpeting to see if there are hardwoods underneath. We are looking at what exists in the house today. We can’t see in the future any more than anyone else. If we do see something that may require more in-depth investigation, we will flag the potential problem to you or in the report and request that you bring in another expert to conduct a more detailed examination. We may ask you to call a roofer, HVAC person, builder, electrician, pest inspector or plumber.
YES!!! We want you to attend, even if it’s for the last 30 minutes. Listening to our knowledgeable home inspector explain the house systems and how they work will always be more valuable than reading a report. Additionally, it gives you the opportunity to ask questions and get clarifications in the moment. Ask us how something works. We will walk you through the steps of operating everything from your thermostat, to your water heater, to your stove and dishwasher - and especially the emergency shutoffs for your gas, water and electrical utilities. This one single item is a time and stress saver, it alone is worth the lost income of missing a day of work to attend your inspections.
Yes, we typically schedule inspections on the weekends to accommodate our client’s busy schedules. Give us a call to check on availability. Your report will include color digital pictures with notes detailing different aspects of the home inspection. The home inspection report produced by Home Gauge, is typically completed the same day as your inspection. You should expect it digitally to your email, if you do not see it after 24 hours, please let us know so we can solve the problem.
We do a visual check for mold and pests during all home inspections. If you need a NPMA 33 for a VHA or FHA loan (Wood Destroying Insect Report) please let us know BEFORE the home inspection so we can prepare that for you. We will perform a visual inspection and will let you know if anything is found that may need further inspection by a pest expert. The same is true for a visual mold inspection. Our inspector will check for evidence of possible mold including stains or spots on ceilings, in closets and around attic beams. We will let you know if remediation is suggested. Sometimes, the best way to deal with surface mold is to clean it properly and then add a vent—at a much cheaper cost than mold air quality testing and full remediation.
Our home inspectors are not alarmists that blow little things up into big ones, nor do they try to play down the importance of matters. They’re all about the facts. We give you the information you need to know whether to move forward with the deal and what to plan ahead for. The final page of our report includes a summary of the items and which items are more important than others. And if you still have questions, just ask. We are here to help.
We Inspect Homes in - Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Saline,
Dexter, Howell, Brighton, Pinckney, Livonia,
Northville and the Surrounding Areas
At least 4 out of 10 problem categories are directly related to the damaging effects of water. That is why keeping water out is a homeowner’s most important and challenging objective. To determine the presence of excessive moisture in your home, hire our talented home inspectors today.