Pre-Purchase (Buyer's) Inspection
Know the house before
it becomes your problem.
The pre-purchase inspection is the one chance you get to look at a home with a professional, unemotional eye — while you still have the leverage to do something about what turns up.
Book this inspection Call (224) 400-1006
You've toured the house twice, maybe for twenty minutes each time, with an agent talking and a seller's furniture hiding the floors. That's not enough to evaluate a two-hundred-thousand-dollar purchase, and it isn't supposed to be. That's what the inspection is for.
We spend two to three hours on a typical Elgin-area home going through every accessible system: the roof and how water leaves it, the grading and how water leaves the lot, the foundation, the framing, the electrical service, the plumbing, the furnace and air conditioning, the water heater, the attic, the windows, the garage and the built-in appliances. Where a visual check isn't enough, the infrared camera and moisture meter come out.
Then we walk it with you, because a report you don't understand is just paperwork.
Included
What the inspection covers
- Roof covering, flashing, gutters and drainage
- Grading, walkways and site drainage
- Foundation, basement and crawlspace
- Structure, framing and visible supports
- Attic insulation and ventilation
- Electrical service, panel and receptacles
- GFCI/AFCI protection and safety devices
- Water supply, drains and visible piping
- Water heater, venting and relief valve
- Furnace, air conditioning and distribution
- Windows, doors, walls, ceilings and floors
- Garage, overhead door and safety reverse
- Built-in kitchen appliances
- Infrared scanning of suspect areas
Context
Why it matters in this market
Chicagoland housing stock is old. A large share of homes around Elgin, Carpentersville and Aurora were built before 1980, which means original galvanized supply lines, Federal Pacific and Zinsco panels, knob-and-tube remnants in older neighborhoods, and clay sewer laterals with fifty years of root intrusion behind them.
It's also wet. Freeze-thaw cycles work on masonry and foundations all winter, and flat lots with poor grading put water against the foundation every spring. Half the serious findings we write up trace back to water going somewhere it shouldn't.
None of that means don't buy the house. It means know the number before you sign, so the repair conversation happens during attorney review instead of during your first winter.
Opening the service panel and testing every accessible receptacle
Questions
About pre-purchase (buyer's) inspection
When should I schedule it?
As soon as your offer is accepted. In Illinois the inspection contingency window is short — often five to ten business days — and you want the report in hand with time left to negotiate.
Can I attend?
Please do. Come for the whole thing or just the last forty-five minutes, when we walk the house together and go over what we found.
What if we find something major?
You'll know exactly how major, with photos and context. Most deals don't die over findings; they get renegotiated. A credit or a seller-completed repair is far more common than a walk-away.
Also consider
Pairs well with
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Learn more ›Pre-Listing (Seller's) Inspection
The same defect discovered by your inspector is a repair you schedule. Discovered by the buyer's inspector, it's a credi…
Learn more ›Book an inspection
Book a pre-purchase (buyer's) inspection.
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Closing on a deadline? Call and say so — we hold evening and weekend slots for contingency windows.