Buyer’s Home Inspections

The best way to ensure that you are well informed about the strengths and weaknesses of a property is to have us do a professional home inspection for you. We have the training and experience needed to identify conditions both large and small that the sellers may or may not be aware of. We also identify whether repair, replacement, monitoring, or further evaluation by a licensed tradesperson or specialist is needed.

New Homes
Manufactured Homes

A manufactured home is a structure that is transportable in one or more sections and is designed to be used as a single family dwelling with or without a permanent foundation. Manufactured homes are constructed using a different set of standards ("codes") than site-built homes and are designed to be lightweight, mobile, and flexible in order to survive road shock and high winds while they travel to their destination. Conversely, site-built homes are designed to stay put at a single site and endure only the conditions of that location. The terms mobile home and manufactured home are sometimes used interchangeably.

Manufactured Home Inspections include the same general components as a site-built Home Inspection, but some aspects are different. For instance, most manufactured homes have vaulted ceilings throughout the home with no accessible attic space. Manufactured homes also have a "bottom board" (also commonly referred to as the "belly wrap") that protects the plumbing, heat ducts, and insulation during transport, and makes rodent entry more difficult. However, the bottom board also limits an inspector's ability to clearly view these components in the crawl space. Plumbing leaks are often discovered in crawl spaces under manufactured homes by alert inspectors that observe a sag in the "belly wrap." While these items limit the typical inspection, there are other items to consider. Manufactured homes have special requirements of their own, such as support pier placement and spacing, tie down requirements and ventilation, just to name a few.

Due to the differences in construction between a site-built home and a manufactured home, manufactured homes can be prone to improper installation. Some examples include an incorrect roofing product installed for the structure and pitch of the roof, leaking seams, inadequate steps and rails, lack of sufficient egress in the event of an emergency, missing skirting, seismic restraints (stabilizing tie downs) electrical defects, modified HVAC equipment, and leaking or disconnected heating ducts. Structures built adjoining manufactured homes such as carports, decks, and deck and patio roofs are required to be self-supporting (not relying on the manufactured home for support).