HOME INSPECTION
We will conduct a visual assessment of a home’s condition in which we will look for potential problems in areas of the home, including ceilings, walls, floors, windows, and doors.
Skipping out on a home inspection puts the home buyer at significant risk. For many, buying a home will likely be the single largest purchase of their lifetime. A home inspector is an objective third-party consultant acting on the buyer’s behalf, delivering a report about the home’s condition to provide the buyer with vital information to make an educated decision on their purchase. Viewing the photos provided on the listing and visiting the home in person is only the tip of the iceberg when getting an understanding of the home. Cosmetic features play a part in determining whether the home is right for you. However, cosmetic features are often renovated relatively cheaper than significant issues associated with the home’s “bones” hiding under the surface.
The average person can easily miss vital issues without the appropriate knowledge, expertise, and tools needed to identify them. Once the home is purchased, the responsibility to remedy problems and cover costs falls onto the new homeowner, costing thousands of dollars.
PRE-DRYWALL INSPECTION (NEW CONSTRUCTION)
KMI requires a construction set either in advance or on site for each pre-drywall inspection.
One way to ensure that a new home is built according to its specifications is by performing a pre-drywall inspection. “Pre-drywall” refers to a phase during the homebuilding process just after the installation of certain elements – such as the doors, windows, foundation, flooring, wall and roof components, plumbing and electrical rough-in – and right before the drywall is hung. This in-progress or construction-phase inspection is useful because drywall can obscure some aspects of the interior and make identifying or fixing any problems both difficult and expensive, once the new home is completely finished. A pre-drywall inspection can be performed after the insulation is installed, which is convenient because it allows the home inspector to determine whether it was done properly. However, the insulation may conceal some components in much of the same way that drywall does.
What do we look at during this inspection? During a pre-drywall inspection, the areas of the house that we check include:
PRE-LISTING INSPECTION
We will conduct a thorough examination of your home, most of the time on behalf of the seller or their listing agent, before listing their property for sale. This inspection will help to identify any potential issues or repairs that may need to be addressed before putting your home on the market. It can also be used without the intent of selling your home, simply to know what to do to keep your home in good shape, avoiding costly repairs down the road.
4-POINT INSPECTION
A 4-point inspection in Florida is a detailed examination of a home's four main systems: the roof, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC. It's a non-invasive inspection that's often required by homeowners' insurance companies to ensure a home's key components are in good working order, and is a tool that insurance companies use to rate your policy.
WIND MITIGATION REPORT
A wind mitigation inspection is a professional evaluation of a home's features that help it withstand strong winds and water damage:
The inspector will provide a wind mitigation report after the inspection. A wind mitigation inspection may help you save money on your home insurance policy. Insurance companies use the inspection to determine whether your home has features that reduce the risk of severe property damage from wind, and they use the report as a way to rate your policy.
REMEDIATION AND RESTORATION
Water damage remediation and restoration is the comprehensive process of repairing and rebuilding a property affected by water intrusion, aiming to return it to its pre-damaged condition by removing excess water, drying affected areas, and repairing any structural damage caused by the water, including replacing damaged materials and addressing potential mold issues. What we do during remediation and restoration:
AIR QUALITY TESTING
Mold spores are not visible to the naked eye. Also known as air sampling, this is a method of testing for mold in the air by collecting and analyzing air samples for mold spores. We use a spore trap that pulls air in through a pump, and collects the spores in a cartridge. This sample is then compared to a control cartridge which is taken from outside air. Having samples analyzed can help provide evidence of the scope and severity of a mold problem, as well as aid in assessing your exposure to mold spores.
DEALING WITH MOLD
There is no practical way to eliminate all mold and mold spores in the indoor environment; the way to control indoor mold growth is to control moisture. If water damage is present, the only effective way to get rid of the toxins is to COMPLETELY REMOVE the substance affected.
1. If mold is a problem in your home you must clean up the mold and eliminate sources of moisture, and fix the source of the water problem or leak.
2. Reduce indoor humidity (to 30-60%) to decrease mold growth by:
3. Clean and dry any damp or wet building materials and furnishings within 24-48 hours to prevent mold growth.
4. Clean mold off hard surfaces with water and detergent, and dry completely. Absorbent materials such as ceiling tiles, that are moldy, may need to be replaced.
5. Prevent condensation: Reduce the potential for condensation on cold surfaces (i.e., windows, piping, exterior walls, roof, or floors) by adding insulation.
6. In areas where there is a perpetual moisture problem, do not install carpeting. Molds can be found almost anywhere; they can grow on virtually any substance, providing moisture is present. There are molds that can grow on wood, paper, inside toilets, carpet, and foods.
SEWER CAMERA INSPECTION
A sewer camera inspection is a process where we insert a small, waterproof camera attached to a flexible cable into your sewer line (typically your cleanout) to visually examine its condition, allowing us to identify issues like cracks, blockages, failures, tree root intrusions, or other damage within the pipes without having to dig them up; essentially providing a real-time view of the inside of your sewer system to diagnose potential problems. We will upload your video to a YouTube channel where you can have access to your video and share as necessary.
We have found that sewer camera inspections are particularly important with new construction. We have discovered buried cleanout pipes, pipe misalignment, pipe sloping issues, blocked drain lines from construction materials, etc. If at all, you suspect sewer issues like slow drains, backups, gas smells, then a sewer camera inspection may help pinpoint the source of your problem.