What is a Preventive home inspection and do I require one?

Every year around this time (beginning of fall) a popular topic among homeowners is the popular preventive maintenance schedule prior to the upcoming winter months and whether a preventive home inspection is necessary. Since there is no right or wrong answer to this question (depending on 
your level of expertise) we decided to provide our opinion on this topic including the benefits of performing a preventive home inspection on your home/investment as well as the frequency of these types of inspections.

Wondering what's included in a preventive inspection?

A preventive maintenance home inspection is an in depth inspection of the building and its components with the intention of identifying underlying issues and providing the homeowner with peace of mind that the property is in ideal condition with no deficiencies that may have gone 
unnoticed that could have a direct impact on the buildings condition. The goal of this type of inspection is to provide a detailed list of issues that require repair and/or maintenance prior to potential future problems that may magnify if left in their current state.

The secondary purpose of a preventive maintenance home inspection is to inspect and ensure that all of the buildings components are running efficiently. Most building components that can be preventively inspected and maintained/serviced often times can save both time and money for the homeowner by replacing and/or maintaining specific components before the failing and/or damaged item causes additional harm to items and/or components that are linked or in close proximity. A few good examples of this would be an unnoticed leaking roof that is causing additional damages in the attic, an unprotected exterior hose bib that may freeze in the winter months causing damages to the plumbing system as well as HVAC (heating/ventilation and A/C) issue that may harm your 
furnace and/or Heat pump and its efficient operation. These just to name a few.

Once the physical inspection is performed we provide a detailed 40-70 page inspection report with extensive description and images of all the components inspected. Still have questions after the report is sent? Contact us after the report is received and we will gladly explain our report as well as any questions you may have.

A lot can happen in 5 years. This is why our suggested interval of preventive maintenance home inspections is set at or around the 5 year mark. Since most major building components generally last well over the 5 year mark we have suggested this interval as a guideline that ensures proper 
maintenance before any major defects arise. Just remember preventive maintenance protects the building and saves money in the long term.

If you are looking for a qualified/certified and capable home inspector to perform a preventive maintenance home inspection and/or any of our additional services including Pre-Purchase and Pre-Sale inspections please contact us at 514-261-1438 or [email protected]