Our New Home Inspection package is our basic mechanical and structural home inspection. It's our job to evaluate the condition of the house's major systems and structural integrity. In addition to visually inspecting every area accessible to us, we'll evaluate how these systems are working together and identify areas of the home that need to be repaired, watched or replaced. Each home comes with a FREE RecallChek report, where we're catalog each appliance in the home so you receive notification if they become recalled or need replaced.

Our 12-Step Home Inspection Includes:

1. Foundation
2. Roofing
3. Exterior, walls, siding etc...
4. Porches and decks
5. Attic
6. Electrical systems
7. Plumbing systems
8. Interior
9. Doors and windows
10. Heating and air conditioning systems
11. Ventilation
12. Fireplaces

Please plan on approximately 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 hours for a new home inspection.

Mechanical inspections include:  visible plumbing, electrical, heating, cooling & built-in appliances

Structural Inspections include:  foundation, roof and everything in-between including windows, walls, floors, doors, fireplaces, chimneys, grading, fences, and attics.

The last thing you want is added stress of termites when moving into a new home. If unidentified and untreated, these critters can cause major structural damage to your home; damage that is often not covered by many insurance policies. To be safe, we recommend a termite inspection be performed while your new home inspection is underway.

Identifying Termite Damage

Termite damage or infestation can be identified through visually inspecting the home for:

• Mud tubes. These are often found on foundation walls and floor joists and about the size of a pencil.
  Hollowed wood. Knocking on a baseboard, siding, trim, etc. will indicate if the wood has been hollowed out.
  Wrinkled or sunken wall coverings can indicate termites are crawling beneath them.

Our team of termite inspectors visually inspect your home for any signs of current or past termite infestation. In the event the home does require termite treatment, we can recommended service providers and contractors who can repair and prevent further damage. 

New Home Inspections with InspectorNick.com

In addition to your radon and termite inspection, we'll perform a new home inspection including review of mechanical and structural systems in the home. We will evaluate the condition of the house's major systems and structural integrity. In addition to visually inspecting every area accessible to us, we'll evaluate how these systems are working together and identify areas of the home that need to be repaired, watched or replaced. Each home comes with a FREE RecallChek report, where we're catalog each appliance in the home so you receive notification if they become recalled or need replaced.

Our 12-Step Home Inspection Includes:

1. Foundation
2. Roofing
3. Exterior, walls, siding etc...
4. Porches and decks
5. Attic
6. Electrical systems
7. Plumbing systems
8. Interior
9. Doors and windows
10. Heating and air conditioning systems
11. Ventilation
12. Fireplaces

Please plan on approximately 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 hours for a new home inspection + termite.

Mechanical inspections include:  visible plumbing, electrical, heating, cooling & built-in appliances

Structural Inspections include:  foundation, roof and everything in-between including windows, walls, floors, doors, fireplaces, chimneys, grading, fences, and attics.

Radon is a naturally-occuring gas found in soil, rock and water. All homes have some level of radon in and around them, but a test is needed to determine if you're at risk. The radioactivity and lack of radon detection has led the EPA to consider it the leading cause of lung-cancer among non-smokers. Radon is undetectable by the human eye, and must be tested with proper equiptment from a radon inspector such as InspectorNick.com.

We perform radon testing around the Kansas City area. If your radon test is part of your new home inspection, we'll drop off our machine at the listing location 48 hours before our inspection and read the results upon our arrival. You'll know if the home is exposed to high-risk levels of radon upon competion of our home inspection.

By adding a radon test to your new house + termite inspection, you'll save $140 (as opposed to a stand-alone radon test.) We advise home buyers to not stall and have radon tested as part of the pre-moving process.

Termite Inspections

Termites pose a serious threat to the structural integrity of a home. Don't move in without knowing if the home has a current or previous termite infestation.

New Home Inspections with InspectorNick.com

In addition to your radon and termite inspection, we'll perform a new home inspection including review of mechanical and structural systems in the home. We will evaluate the condition of the house's major systems and structural integrity. In addition to visually inspecting every area accessible to us, we'll evaluate how these systems are working together and identify areas of the home that need to be repaired, watched or replaced. Each home comes with a FREE RecallChek report, where we're catalog each appliance in the home so you receive notification if they become recalled or need replaced.

Our 12-Step Home Inspection Includes:

1. Foundation
2. Roofing
3. Exterior, walls, siding etc...
4. Porches and decks
5. Attic
6. Electrical systems
7. Plumbing systems
8. Interior
9. Doors and windows
10. Heating and air conditioning systems
11. Ventilation
12. Fireplaces

Please plan on approximately 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 hours for a new home inspection + termite + radon

We will drop off a radon machine at least 48 hours before our new home inspection.

Mechanical inspections include:  visible plumbing, electrical, heating, cooling & built-in appliances

Structural Inspections include:  foundation, roof and everything in-between including windows, walls, floors, doors, fireplaces, chimneys, grading, fences, and attics.

Market your home to sell it fast! A pre-listing inspection is recommended for any seller. It will give you a leg-up when it comes to listing your house and negotiating your selling price.

Why Get a Pre-Listing Inspection?

More than likely, once you receive an offer on your house, a home buyer will have an inspection done for your listing. Why wait and see what the buyer's home inspection finds, nervously anticipating the "verdict" from the home inspector. You might as well know the status of your home first. Control the process by having a home inspection performed before you place your house on the market.

How Can A Pre-Listing Help Sell Your House?

• Allows your sellers to see your home through the eyes of a critical and neutral third party
• Alerts you to immediate safety issues before agents and visitors tour your home such as gas leaks, carbon monoxide spillage and roof leaks
• Permits you to make repairs ahead of time so that defects won't become negotiating stumbling blocks later. Inspections in the 11th hour of a home negotiation are a thing of the past. 
• Gives you the time to get reasonably priced contractors or make the repairs yourself, if qualified.
• Convinces sellers to price the home more realistically. Sell, Sell, Sell.
• Relieves prospective buyers concerns and suspicions. Some buyers walk because they feel uneven carpet.
• Can encourage buyers to waive their inspection contingency.
• Reduces your seller’s liability by adding professional supporting documentation to their disclosure statement.
• Pre-approves the sellers. You pre-approve your buyers so you don’t waste time. Why waste sellers time if a deal falls apart because of inadequate funds to fix the house. “As is” doesn’t mean contracted buyers will still buy after inspections. 

Please plan on approximately 3 - 3 1/2 hours for a pre-listing inspection.

Our duplex inspection provides a thorough visual inspection of each unit within the listing. Clients often purchase a duplex for rental property, either renting one or both sides. Our home inspection will ensure that you know the status on each unit before closing the deal. We'll educate you on how to properly maintain the units and locate important features like electrical boxes and valves. A duplex inspection will thoroughly inspect each side of the duplex's interior systems, as well as the roof and exterior systems.

If you are needing an inspection of only one unit in a multi-unit house, please see our New Home Inspection.

Our 12-Step Home Inspection Includes:

1. Foundation
2. Roofing
3. Exterior, walls, siding etc...
4. Porches and decks
5. Attic
6. Electrical systems
7. Plumbing systems
8. Interior
9. Doors and windows
10. Heating and air conditioning systems
11. Ventilation
12. Fireplaces

Please plan on approximately 4 hours for a duplex inspection.

Mechanical inspections include:  visible plumbing, electrical, heating, cooling & built-in appliances

Structural Inspections include:  foundation, roof and everything in-between including windows, walls, floors, doors, fireplaces, chimneys, grading, fences, and attics.

The last thing you want is added stress of termites when purchasing a duplex, especially if you'll be using it as rental property. If unidentified and untreated, these critters can cause major structural damage; damage that is often not covered by many insurance policies. To be safe, we recommend a termite inspection to be performed during your duplex inspection.

Identifying Termite Damage

Termite damage or infestation can be identified through visually inspecting the home for:

• Mud tubes. These are often found on foundation walls and floor joists and about the size of a pencil.
  Hollowed wood. Knocking on a baseboard, siding, trim, etc. will indicate if the wood has been hollowed out.
  Wrinkled or sunken wall coverings can indicate termites are crawling beneath them.

Our team of termite inspectors visually inspect the duplex for any signs of current or past termite infestation. In the event the home does require termite treatment, we can recommended service providers and contractors who can repair and prevent further damage.

DUPLEX INSPECTIONS

Our duplex inspection provides a thorough visual inspection of each unit within the listing. Clients often purchase a duplex for rental property, either renting one or both sides. Our home inspection will ensure that you know the status on each unit before closing the deal. We'll educate you on how to properly maintain the units and locate important features like electrical boxes and valves. A duplex inspection will thoroughly inspect each side of the duplex's interior systems, as well as the roof and exterior systems.

If you are needing an inspection of only one unit in a multi-unit house, please see our New Home Inspection.

Our 12-Step Home Inspection Includes:

1. Foundation
2. Roofing
3. Exterior, walls, siding etc...
4. Porches and decks
5. Attic
6. Electrical systems
7. Plumbing systems
8. Interior
9. Doors and windows
10. Heating and air conditioning systems
11. Ventilation
12. Fireplaces

Please plan on approximately 4 hours for a duplex + termite inspection.

Mechanical inspections include:  visible plumbing, electrical, heating, cooling & built-in appliances

Structural Inspections include:  foundation, roof and everything in-between including windows, walls, floors, doors, fireplaces, chimneys, grading, fences, and attics.

Have the InspectorNick.com team inspect your condo and give you the reassurance that the space is a good buy before signing the dotted line. We'll come in and make sure everything is just how it should be - from making sure there aren't any crooked appliances, checking the floors and inspecting all of the walls and trim. We'll make sure all visible plumbing, electrical, cooling, heating and built-in appliances are working well within the condo.

Please plan on approximately 1 1/2 hours for a condo inspection.

Our team recommends an inspection of the entire property from the front to the back yard. Some listings include a detached building. It's important to have us inspect these detached buildings in addition to your home since they also include structural and mechanical systems. We look at the structure of the detached building, the roof, and any visible mechanical systems within (like garage door openers.) The detached building will be included in our inspection report.

Detached Garage Inspections

This includes garages that are not adjoined to the rest of the home.

Barn Inspections

In rural areas often times a barn will also sit on the property. We'll let you know the status of the barn and if anticipated repair or maintenance will be needed.

Outbuilding Inspections

Some listings have a separate building on the property. We'll inspect this add-on building to ensure it's safe and not a liability.

Inspecting a detached building adds approximately 30 minutes to your Home Inspection.

If the home you are purchasing has more than one heating & cooling unit, we will ensure both are properly inspected. This $25 add-on is critical to guarantee the safety of the home. We'll not only check the status of the HVAC unit, but also educate you on how to properly maintain the filter and find the shut-off valves.

Mold can cause serious asthmatic and health concerns if not identified and treated. Every living organism has mold, but it's important that your home's indoor air quality not exceed normal levels. In the event of a basement flood or pipe burst, your home is at higher risk to develop dangerous levels of mold.

Testing for Mold

Our mold testing includes one indoor air sample and one outdoor air sample. That way we can determine if the level inside of your home is much greater than the outdoors.The mold test will sample one area of your home, for example your basement that flooded.

If you'd like an additional indoor area of the home (perhaps an upstairs bedroom) tested, it's an additional $125 for the second swab.

Testing for radon is the only way to determine your home's radon level. Every home has some traces of radon, however the EPA and Surgeon General recommend the testing of all homes below the third floor to make sure levels are not excessive. Learn more about the dangers of high levels of radon.

Our radon testing will determine if your home has excessive levels of radon. In the event the test finds high radon levels, we will recommend a professional who can help reduce levels at a reasonable cost so that your home will adheres to the EPA's approved methods for reduction of radon in a residential structure. Very high levels can be reduced to acceptable levels through radon mitigation.

EPA recommends that you use a certified or state licensed radon tester to perform the test. InspectorNick.com can test your home for radon, even if you don't need a home inspection.

A radon testing machine will need to be placed in a home least 48 hours before we can read the results.

Older homes built before 1978 may need to be inspected and tested for lead if there will be children residing in the home or if you're about to undergo a remodeling project. Before 1978, the government didn't regulate the amount of lead used in paints. While many homes still have high levels of lead paint, it's particularly dangerous when the paint starts chipping and particles from lead dust are inhaled by young children.

We'll have a certified lead-based paint expert to your home and take samples to identify if you're at risk for lead exposure.

Chipping paint, sanding and scraping paint containing high levels of lead can leave dust particles around your home that may cause concern. Exposure to lead is especially be harmful for those age 6 and under, or pregnant women. According to the EPA, "(Lead exposure among) children age six and younger has been linked to nervous system damage, behavior and learning problems, and slow growth.

If you live in an older home and anticipate an upcoming remodeling job, it's wise to have your house tested for asbestos before construction begins. Older building materials and insulation can carry harmful particles, which have caused several injuries and fatalities from inhalation. If you're not in the process of remodeling like tearing up walls and ripping up floors, you should be fine and your risk is low. However, if you'll be exposing your indoor air to dust from older building materials, have your house checked first.

In the event that asbestos is found in your home, we can recommend a service provider who can safely clean it up and remove the threat from your house.

Make sure you don't simply hire a company to only inspect a septic pump - but have your system pumped and inspected. Without pumping the septic tank, the inspector cannot see the interior condition of the tank and that is required to conform to state standards. This combined service gives you an accurate idea of the status of your septic system and overall condition of one of the most expensive components; the tank. Don't spend money on a septic inspection without pumping it.

In Missouri - schedule both your septic pump & inspection NOW! 

In Johnson County, KS - you must call the county and schedule an inspection by an actual county inspector. You are required to arrange a licensed pumping company to pump the tank at the same time the county inspector is present. Please note that both the pumping and inspecting services must be scheduled for the same time.

View licensed pumping contractors in city of Johnson County, KS (We recommend Truninger Brothers septic pumping for all pumping services and you can coordinate the pumping with them at (and inspection by the county.)

Need some professional guidance on the status of your home? Have a perplexing foundation settlement problem or a roof leak caused by an unknown source or just some simple educational tips like how to maintain the HVAC and figure out your hot water tank? Nick's home consultation is designed to educate and inform home owners about the inter-workings of their home and simple solutions to complex problems. Many homeowners aren't familiar with their home's mechanical and structural systems to know when a major problem has occurred. The InspectorNick.com team can meet one-on-one, inspect a certain area of concern, and give tips for maintenance or repair.

Examples Of Home Consultations

We've met with home owners for a variety of reasons. Some of the most popular home consultations we've done involve:

• Indicating if new cracks in the basement are cause for concern and need immediate action.
• Looking over a furnace to determine if it's still safe to use, and providing education on upkeep.
• Identify leaks and sources of ceiling stains.
• Examine the exterior to determine if there's been damage or replacement is needed.
• Determine if a chimney is safe for use.

Nick is a resourceful guide and can consult you on the status of your home, and how to get it fixed. In the event we identify an area that needs repair, we can refer you to a service provider and walk you through the steps to ensure your home is back up to par in no time.