Frequently Asked Questions

Inspection Process, Fees, and Geograpical Limits:

Do I need to attend the inspection?

What will I learn during the home inspection?

How long does a home inspection take?

How do you set the inspection fee?

What forms of payment do you accept and when is payment due?

What local areas do you inspect?

How far do you travel to perform inspections?

Do you charge travel fees?

What is the inspection process?

Upon arrival at the inspection site, Mr. Engler will sit down with the client for about 5 minutes to explain the inspection expectations and procedures and answer any preliminary questions. He will take the client for a tour of the inspection report and manual. He will then present the client with the Home Inspection Services Agreement to read and sign.

While the client is reading the agreement, Mr. Engler will take a preliminary tour of the house to familiarize him with the layout and garner some basic information about it. He will return to the client and take a few minutes to enter the basic house information in the report manual.

When Mr. Engler is finished with the preliminary entries, questions from the client about the Home Inspection Services Agreement have been satisfactorily answered and the agreement has been signed by the client and the inspector, he will invite the client to join him outside of the house as, usually, the building exterior is inspected first. Here the inspection and tutorial begin. Questions are encouraged at anytime, however, Mr. Engler might defer them to a more appropriate time during the inspection in order to maintain a methodical inspection flow. Mr. Engler will describe to the client systems observed, problems discovered and general maintenance needed to keep the house in good condition. He will mount the roof if he deems it is safe to do so and it can be reached with a 12' ladder. Upon completion of the exterior inspection, the inspection party will move to the basement or lowest level of the house and continue the inspection there and then move up through the house to the attic to complete the inspection process.

When the inspection is finished, Mr. Engler will complete the report and review any major concerns with the client. When this phase is complete and the client is satisfied and has no further questions, Mr. Engler will ask for payment in the form of check or cash. At that time, he will pull his copies from the report manual, present the client with the completed inspection report and manual and bid the client goodbye after inviting the client to call anytime with any questions.

Note: An additional copy of the inspection report is available for the client's real estate agent. That copy is always conveyed to the agent by the client as the report is the sole property of the client and is confidential between the inspector and the buyer. Any further dissemination of the report is done as felt appropriate by the client. Often giving a copy of the report to the client's real estate agent is a requirement of the real estate sales contract.

Do I need to attend the inspection?

Attendance at the inspection is not compulsory. However, to get the most out of your inspection, attendance is vigorously encouraged. The client, even if they have owned several houses before, will more than likely learn new things he or she didn't know before. It is also felt, that those old and new to home ownership will be years ahead on the home maintenance and care curve by attending the inspection. Mr. Engler has clients that have engaged his services several times (see Can you provide references? below) and won't miss the opportunity to accompany him on the inspection.

What will I learn during the home inspection?

You will learn where things are, what they are, essentially how they work and general maintenance advice. There are many important things to learn so come ready and open to new information. In most cases, you will learn more useful information than you ever dreamed of learning in a four hour seminar.

How long does a home inspection take?

To use an old expression, "it all depends". Mr. Engler's inspections are thorough, educational and well documented. Typically, a detached 4 bedroom, 2800 square foot house in good condition will take approximately 4 to 5 hours. Condo's will usually take from 2 to 3 hours but large ones can take as long as a detached 4 bedroom house and longer. Houses with many problems take longer as it takes time to find those problems, discuss them with the client and then document them. New homes generally take the longest as the level of detail is significantly increased. Cosmetic defects, not normally a concern with previously owned homes, are noted or marked which takes considerable time. Moreover, all electrical receptacle outlets, lighting fixtures, windows, doors, etc are checked rather than a representative sampling of each. Mr. Engler works as fast a possible while still maintaining a high level of thoroughness - he doesn't want to be in the house any longer than is necessary but he will take the time that is necessary to provide the client with a report that is as thorough and complete as possible.

How do you set the inspection fee?

The accelerated price of houses in our region in the last few years has created an environment that has made the normal fee schedule system used in the past, in many cases, unrealistic. Tying the fee to the sales price of the property has simply, in many cases, created exorbitant fees. Hence, the fee schedule for inspections scheduled is as follows:
$1.00 per $1,000 of the property sales price plus $95 or $130/hr whichever is less.

Example: For a property with a sales price $700,000 the fee would be $795.00 or $130/hr for the time spent at the inspection and for any follow up report preparation. If the inspection were to take 4 ½ hours, the fee would be the only $585.00, the lesser of the two fees.

Minimum single family detached home: $520

Minimum town/row house fee: $455

Minimum condominium fee: $325

Radon Testing is an additional $145.00

What forms of payment do you accept and when is payment due?

Payment may be made in the form of cash or check. Payment is due at the completion of the inspection when the completed report is handed over to the client.

What local areas do you inspect?

Mr. Engler does inspections throughout the greater Washington, D. C. metropolitan area. He prefers to concentrate his efforts in northern Virginia, Montgomery County, MD and Washington, D. C. as ever increasing traffic congestion makes it difficult to reach other areas efficiently.

How far do you travel to perform inspections?

Mr. Engler will travel almost anywhere to do a home inspection where licensing laws permit. His services have been asked for in many places far flung from his home in Annandale, VA. He has performed inspections as far as Williamsburg, Richmond, Charlottesville, Front Royal, Flint Hill, Purcellville, Harrisonburg, VA, Baltimore, southern Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, New York (in the city and in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York), Dewey Beach, Maryland's eastern shore and many other places.

Do you charge travel fees?

Outside of roughly a 30 mile radius of his home in Annandale, VA, Mr. Engler charges a travel fee due to the additional time and mileage involved. The travel fee is determined on a case by case basis and is based on estimated additional time and mileage.