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Speech bubble 3 positive customer review: they found a few issues I never have known about. I cannot believe people purchase homes without an inspection. Worth every penny!
Speech bubble 2: from the first phone call to the completed report our experience with Reliable Home Inspection Service was excellent
Speech bubble 1: I can't recommend this company enough for any homeowner or prospective homeowner that wants the real truth on the largest purchase of their life.

HOME INSPECTION

A home inspection is an objective visual examination of a house’s physical structure and systems. A reliable home inspection is also a vital step in buying a house. Whether you’re planning on living in the home for the next 30 years or are purchasing it as an investment property, you still want to know what you’re buying. For example, does the house have a solid foundation? Do all the light switches work? Are there soft spots on the roof indicating water damage? Do any of the windows or doors have wood rot? Are the structure and framing solid, or are some areas ‘improvised’ with unstable supports?

A thorough home inspection will answer all these questions and more.

Our ASHI Certified Inspectors will examine:

  • Framing (structure)

  • Roof and attic

  • Foundation

  • Walls, windows, and doors

  • Electrical system

  • Plumbing system

  • Heating and air conditioning systems

  • Kitchen

  • Bathrooms

  • Exterior

  • Attached structures (decks, etc.)

We strongly encourage you to walk with your inspector and ask them any and all questions about the components of the home. Many of our clients find that the inspection is also an excellent time to learn about the operation of their home. Your inspector will go over essential home operation items such as how to shut the water off, the location of major plumbing shutoff valves, how to shut off power and gas, how to change the filters on your HVAC system, and more.
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Throughout the inspection, our inspector will take pictures of any areas of concern and create a detailed report on the conditions of the home. The inspection process generally takes around three hours. We’ll deliver your digital report on the same day as the inspection. We’ll also discuss our findings with you as well as the care and maintenance of the home. If you cannot attend the inspection, your inspector will happily review the report and their findings over the phone at your convenience.

Why choose Reliable Home Inspection Service?

  • At Reliable, we’ve inspected homes in Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania for 29 years. We have inspected more than 10,000 homes and commercial properties. We are experienced.

  • Our inspectors are ASHI Certified Inspectors, the highest American Society of Home Inspectors membership level. We are qualified.

  • We will give you the full report, including items that need to be repaired today, items that will need repairs tomorrow, and items to monitor over the next few years. We are detailed.

  • We work for you. We coordinate with agents, but we work for you. We are unbiased.

  • We will go everywhere; we will walk your roof*, and we will crawl your crawlspace. We are thorough.

  • Every home inspection is conducted with the utmost care and consideration. We treat your house like it’s our house. We are Reliable!

What you need to know before your home inspection

TIME 

  • Please allow three hours for the inspection.

  • You will receive the thorough, photographed report the same day we do the inspection.

  • We also do inspections on Saturday.

THE CLIENT (You!)

  • You don't need to attend the inspection, but we do recommend it so you can ask questions along the way.

  • If you can only attend part of the inspection, we recommend the end so the inspector can go over their findings with you.

  • If you can't attend the inspection at all the inspector will be happy to go discuss the results with you over the phone. 

  • Your agent can attend the inspection.

THE INSPECTOR  (Us)

  • Our inspector will be in a blue uniform in a blue truck.

  • They will meet you onsite and on time, and begin the inspection with the exterior areas of the home.

HOMES

  • We inspect all kinds of homes; Single-family, duplex, townhouse, apartment, mobile, condos, modular, luxury, and everything in between!

  • We walk the roof and we crawl the crawlspace!

Why is walking the roof important?

The roof protects the rest of the home from water damage, insects, mold, and more. Keeping the roof in good repair prevents other repairs entirely.

Boots on the roof are more likely to find soft spots than a drone is.

The roof is one of the most expensive home repairs. A new roof can cost between $10,000 and $15,000.

WHERE WE SERVE

  • We conduct home inspections in Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, Delaware Valley, and Chester Counties.

  • Delaware - All counties

  • Maryland - Cecil county

WEATHER

  • We will inspect your home rain or shine.

  • If necessary, we'll make a second trip to inspect your roof at no extra charge.

OTHER SERVICES

For more about the roof see our blog post!

THE REPORT

  • Your thorough report will be emailed to you on the same day as the home inspection. Printed reports are available upon request, 

  • ASHI recognizes four tiers of defect

    1. Major Defect - These are big-ticket items, most contracts will require the seller to fix these before closing.  ASHI definition: An item that is broken and will have a substantial monetary value to repair, or needs evaluation to determine the cost of a likely expensive repair.​

    2. Safety Concern - May or may not be expensive to fix, but they could be the cause of injury or harm. The seller is also required to fix these. ASHI definition: An item that affects the safety of the occupants of the home, and is in need of immediate repair.

    3. Service and repair - These are smaller ticket items in need of repair. The seller does not fix these. ASHI definition: An item in need of repair or maintenance, the expected cost of which should be at a level less than that of a major defect, at the time of inspection. Also noted, may be some inaccessible items or items not working.

    4. Monitor and maintain - Keep an eye on these, they're not broken yet, but they could use a little TLC. The seller is not required to fix these, ASHI definition: An item that will require immediate maintenance and should be carefully monitored to avoid larger problems.

UTILITIES

  • In order to inspect all of the systems of the home (electrical, plumbing, heating, cooling) we need the utilities to be on.

  • If your utilities are not on we can make two trips, but there may be an additional charge.

  • This does not apply to pre-drywall inspections where utilities aren't installed yet.

*Not all roofs can be walked, although most can. Clay and slate shingles are too fragile to be walked. Additionally, 12 pitch/metal roofs may be unsafe to walk. ​If we can't walk your roof then one of our licensed drone pilots will do a high-resolution drone roof inspection for no additional cost.

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