Inspections for home buyers

Get our professional and knowledgeable specialists to check every inch of your future home. Our objective is to identify any issues you may have or might encounter down the road.  Having this information prior to closing, allows you to make an informed decision about the purchase.

More Than 40 Years Dedicated to Protecting Home Buyers And Their Families

Decades Of Real Construction Experience

ICC Code Certified Inspectors

Certified Professional Inspector With ASHI, InterNACHI, And GAHI

What we do

Home inspections across metro Atlanta to help home buyers know what issues the home they are interested in purchasing might have.

Look below to see all the residential inspection services we offer.

Re-Sale Inspection

Over the years, the Georgia building code minimums have been updated and changed quite a bit. On a regular basis we still find asbestos, aluminum wiring, and other safety risks that were once allowed by code. For that reason, it’s really important to check your prospective home for these safety concerns that were possibly installed at the time of construction. After that, we have all of the possible issues which may have occurred since construction. As a home ages, the structure and components of a home are changed. It is our job to be sure that you are aware of specific issues in your future home. In addition to making sure you have working outlets, running water, and functioning appliances, we work diligently to ensure the home is structurally sound, properly built, well ventilated, and dry.
Our inspection of your home will arm you with the knowledge to make an educated and informed decision to feel confident in your selection. We want to be sure that you know what you will need to do now to make your home comfortable, as well as how to maintain it in the future. We cover all the major systems of the home, including; electrical, heating and air conditioning, roofing, basement/crawlspace, lot drainage, exterior and interior finishes, and many other items. We encourage you to follow us as we complete the inspection so we can tell you about your future home. In the occasion that we locate a major deficiency or a large number of minor issues, you and your family can weigh the positives verse the negatives and chose to move forward with the purchase or back out. Either way, that choice will be yours. We will simply provide you with the information about the home that we find during the inspection.

Completed New Home Inspection

 

Even if we weren’t there for you plan review/lot selection, foundation inspection, or pre-drywall inspection, we can still handle your final inspection before closing, as well as an 11-month re-inspection after closing (before the 12-month builder warranty expires). Over our 45 years of inspecting, we are aware of how certain building deficiencies will progress if uncorrected. We will inspect for Code Compliance, building component adequacy, as well how drainage has been arranged around your new home. While we can’t predict the future, but we use our training, knowledge, and experience to diagnose to help issues before you close.

Keep in mind, that at any time after you closed on your newly built home, we are available to consult on issues that may arise in the future. We offer no cost phone or email consultations for our previous clients. For instance, if you are having basement moisture problems 15 years after closing or just need advice on how to properly maintain your home, just call us.

New Construction

Congratulations on your decision to build your dream home. This process can take quite some time and have its fair share of issues along the way. That’s where we can help. Most new homes were designed by an architect/engineer who will never see the lot they are to be built on……and the builders are not able to be onsite all the time. That’s why it is imperative that you employ your own inspector/representative to review the work as it progresses. We offer several different types of inspections for the home as it is being built, from plan review and site selection, all the way to the final inspection before closing and an 11-month inspection prior to the expiration of the builder’s warranty. Good builders welcome our input, and have, in fact, instructed field supervisors to follow our suggestions in subsequent homes constructed. Let us help ensure the house you commissioned to be built becomes the home you’ve been dreaming of.

Please keep in mind that if you have found a home, in any stage of new construction, we can come in to assist you during construction. While we cannot see through walls, we can make you aware of any problems that we see.

Lot Suitability/Selection

The lot you choose for your future home can greatly affect your satisfaction with the final product. Armed with the plans for the home, we will get a sense of the foundation placement and of the amount of fill dirt that will be needed. The use of poorly compacted/non-engineered fill dirt is a major cause of premature and unnecessary building settling. The grading completed, and drainage installed should also be inspected by your representative for compliance. This is one of the most important inspections for a new home.

Plan Review

We can use our expertise to review your plans and any changes the builder or architect are proposing. We will work as your representative with your building team. When we review home plans, we are checking all aspects of construction. This ensures that a lack of cohesion or communication between architect, engineer, and the builder won’t lead to an error that you could be stuck living with or cost you to repair down the road.

Foundation/Footing Inspection

County Code Compliance Inspectors inspect both footings (concrete poured to support the foundation of your home) and the subsequent foundations installed. Unfortunately, county inspectors can be required to complete as many as 30 inspections per day. Often, that does not leave enough time to thoroughly inspect a specific property. We can do that for you. We want to ensure that the trenches dug for the footings are deep enough into undisturbed native soil or the engineered filled dirt has been properly compacted, so that settling of your home will be reduced. Footings poured on poorly compacted fill dirt will lead to settling and cracking of your new home.

Framing/Pre-drywall Inspection

This is the 2nd most important inspection of a home under construction. Before the drywall is installed, we can “see into the walls”, checking for compliance with current building codes, as well as addressing any framing issues that may be small at this point, but finding them later could be costlier and a builder may be more reluctant to change. We are your representative in place. Without this inspection, the deficiencies that are visible during this stage, will be covered and much more difficult and costly to identify and repair. 

Final Inspection

The house is complete and you’re likely beyond ready to close. The final inspection gives us the opportunity to follow up on any suggestions made in previous inspections or that are discovered during this inspection, as well as giving you a chance to ask questions that have arisen. At this inspection we will always give you future maintenance reminders and be sure that you can give your builder any “punch out” items before your closing.

11 Month Builder Warranty Inspection

At this point, you’ve been living in your new home for the past 10 or 11 months. By now, you have likely come across a few issues that either weren’t corrected prior to closing or may have only recently appeared. Most builders offer a 12-month new home warranty period. Before the end of your first year of ownership, you can employ us for a builder warranty inspection. Armed with our report, you can request that the builder come and complete repairs to items that have occurred or been discovered over that time period. You may also have a few issues that you can’t seem to identify the cause. We can investigate the symptoms and provide you suggestions for repair. Our report makes it easy to address specific items with your builder. It’s important not to miss this deadline so you can take advantage of your builder’s 1-year warranty. 

 

Radon Testing

Radon is a naturally-occurring radioactive gas that is colorless and odorless, and has been connected to lung cancer. Radon is naturally in the atmosphere in trace amounts. Outdoors, radon disperses rapidly and, generally, is not a health issue. Most radon exposure occurs inside buildings where radon gas becomes trapped indoors after it enters through cracks and/or other openings in the foundation.

Indoor radon can be reduced and controlled with proven, cost-effective mitigation techniques, but only if you know there is a problem. The EPA recommends that you know what the indoor radon level is in any home you consider buying. Contact us today to schedule testing by an NRPP Certified Radon Professional with Scott Home Services. 

For more information about the health risk of radon, view the following document: EPA’s Home Buyer’s and Seller’s Guide to Radon

 

Please call or send a message to schedule your inspection or ask any questions.

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(770) 394 – 8952

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