01/31/2022
How long should my home inspection take? Obviously, the answer to this common question can vary a good deal. Many would think that you would simply consider how old the house is and its size. While the age and size are important factors in the time an inspection will take, I would say age is less important than how well maintained it is and size is less important than the systems and components.
Maintenance seems obvious. Defects take time to evaluate and document, and poorly maintained homes have more defects. Components and systems are a lesser-known factor. What type of foundation is there, are there multiple furnaces, multiple kitchens, or fireplaces? How many bathrooms are there? How easy is the attic to access, and are there multiple access points? I recently inspected a beautiful 3500 sq ft house with five separate attic access hatches. Each of which opened into a separate area of the attic. Add a finished basement, four- and one-half baths, and two kitchens to the mix along with a few mysteries that I helped my clients solve while I was there, and it became my longest inspection to date. If you add on multiple services, you also add on time. Radon Testing, Pest Inspections, Indoor Air Quality sampling, Well and or Septic Inspections will increase the overall time at the inspection.
While these variables can greatly affect the amount of time an inspection will take there is a generally acceptable time that most houses can be done within. Two to four hours is a normal amount of time. Two hours would be a small simple home and four hours would be a very large complex house. I recall one house that I really underestimated. It seemed like a simple 1700 square foot ranch with a detached garage. I arrived only to find that it had a separate apartment with a 2nd furnace in the attic. There were two separate attic access points, two kitchens, two cooling units, and plenty of defects. In addition, there was a barely accessible crawlspace to navigate, and an unattached garage, which is really a whole separate structure to inspect. I was moving pretty fast to get that one done, balancing the need to give my clients a quality inspection while not starving their children to death, who were trying their best to be patient. At the end of the day happy well-informed clients and their agents are my main goal. I will do my best to get you the facts that you need about a house to decide if it is going to become your home, or investment property.
