Guiding You Through Your Investment
Who needs a home inspection?
Many people are recommended to have home inspections:
If you’re buying a home.
If you’re selling a home.
If you’re buying a brand new home.
If you have a Builder’s warranty on a new home.
What is inspected in a home inspection?
Navigations Home Inspection follows the NACHI Standards of Practice. The following are some of the many items we will be inspecting:
Foundation and support structure
Fireplaces
Roof systems
Basement seepage
Safety controls
Water heater
Ventilation
Electrical capacity and components
Electrical panel and sub-panels
Walks and driveways
Built-in appliances
Structural integrity
Steps and stairs
Heating system
Central Air Conditioning system
Plumbing System and Fixtures
Garages, Carports, Workshops, or other external buildings
Surface drainage
Windows and doors
Insulation
Gutters and downspouts
Decks
Sump pumps
Why do I need an inspection if I'm selling?
It is recommended you get your home inspected. This prevents you from having to make repairs or pay for repairs when you go under contract.
Moreover, you receive an unbiased report you can trust and may even be able to increase the value of your property before you sell it by making the necessary repairs.
Why do I need an inspection if I'm buying a home?
It is generally well-known that get a home inspection before buying a resale home is a good idea. But this is in order to avoid costly repairs in the future as much as possible. This also presents you with the items to request are repaired or replaced in your Inspection Objection. Basically, it is a great way to save you money in the future!
What is an Inspection Report?
Provides a summary of the property’s attributes—both negative and positive.
Includes photos of the property taken during the inspection.
Your report will be delivered within 24 hours after the inspection, most are received the same day
Should give you the information needed to make an informed decision regarding your perspective property.
How long does a typical inspection last?
The typical home inspection lasts between three and four hours.
Mold inspections last around two hours or less.
Well-water inspections last two hours.
Wood-destroying organism inspections last around two hours depending on the size of the property.
What IS a Home Inspection?
Process: An inspector collects data on a property; this is done through visual observation, inspector measurements via equipment, and general survey of said property. This is a non-invasive process.
Product: A meaningful, thorough, and extensive report about the condition, attributes, and defects of the property should be the end result.
Purpose: To identify visible defects and/or conditions of a property, as well as the function and/or integrity of items, components, and systems of said property.
Why do I need a home inspection if I'm buying a brand new home?
No one is perfect, and even brand new home builders make mistakes.
It is beneficial to have numerous inspections throughout the build process to prevent unsafe foundations, incorrect rough framing, faulty electrical, HVAC, and plumbing, and improper dry wall and insulation installation.
It is also important to have a final inspection to ensure your home is safe and up to standards.
Why do I need one for an expiring One Year warranty?
It is important to be able to present your builder with a detailed report before your One Year warranty runs out. This will give you evidence of any issues you need repaired before the warranty expires and you become liable for all issues with your home.
What is a Home Inspection NOT?
Able to identify concealed or latent defects.
Concerned with aesthetics or what could be deemed matters of taste or cosmetic defects.
Able to determine the market value of the property.
Advisement of the purchase of the inspected property.
Capable of relaying the life expectancy of the property or components.
A county code inspection.
A certification of property or its components.
Technically exhaustive.
What is the standard price for a home inspection?
Our home inspections range from $250 up to $500 and above; as our inspections are based off square footage, the bigger the property the more expensive the inspection. Navigations Home Inspection will look at the property from top to bottom, inside and out. This is why we base pricing off square footage.
However, Navigations does offer a 110% Best Price Guarantee. If you find a company with similar credentials, insurance, and certifications, we will match their price and then beat it by 10%.
Do you work weekends, holidays, or evenings?
Navigation Home Inspection schedules 7 days a week at 8am, 12pm, and 4pm.
Our customer service is available Monday through Sunday from 7am to 7pm.
What do mold inspections consist of?
Our certified mold inspectors are nationally certified for mold inspections and mold testing.
We use top of the line Zefon International Bio-Pump Plus equipment to perform air tests to identify concentration levels and species of mold spores present within your property.
We send all of our mold test lab samples to a nationally accredited lab for analysis with a fast 48 hour turnaround on lab results.
Our certified mold inspectors will perform a visual mold inspection, utilizing sophisticated moisture detection equipment to determine areas in your home that may be conducive to mold growth. This allows our inspectors to take the proper types of samples in the proper locations within the home to provide the most accurate results. Moreover, we are not a mold mitigation company; what this means for our clients is that you can rest assure that we will not tell you you have mold just to get your business.
What is Radon?
Radon is an odorless, tasteless gas which cannot be seen. Uranium in soils decays creating a radioactive gas – Radon – that is attributed to causing over 20,000 deaths per year (according to the EPA). Radon gas is noxious throughout the U.S.A.
Your home is a trap for radon gas, allowing it to build up and preventing it from dissipating into the air naturally. Radon can enter through unsealed crawl spaces, cracks in floors and foundation, and the water supply.
“This means new and old homes, well-sealed and drafty homes, and homes with or without basements [are at risk for elevated radon levels].” – EPA – “A Citizen’s Guide to Radon”
Do I really need radon testing?
Colorado is has the 7th highest radon levels out of all states in the U.S.
The Surgeon General warns that radon levels above 3.9pCi/L have a high risk of causing lung cancer. How do you know if you and your family are in danger if you do not test?
Is it necessary to get high radon mitigated?
Just like smoking cigarettes, it is not certain you will obtain lung cancer from high radon levels.
However, a radon level above 4.0pCi/L is proven to result in lung cancer; in fact, it is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers. By not mitigating high levels, you are only exponentially increasing your chances.
What do Well-water inspections consist of?
We will test that the pump operates at an acceptable capacity for an extended period of time, i.e. 2 hours. We do this by measuring the time in which it takes the well to fill a 5-gallon bucket for two hours. This gives us an estimate wherein we can then provide you with information on your well-pump’s functionality. It also lets us know whether they may be a crack in your pump or any other issues.
What do the well-water lab reports consist of and mean?
Water testing will be able to produce accurate results to determine if you have any contaminants lurking in your water supply. The follow is good information to know when reviewing your well-water lab reports:
For Domestic Water Sample Reports: this report will provide sample reporting for the Total Alkalinity (mg/L as CaCo3), Bicarbonate (mg/L), Carbonate (mg/L), Chloride (mg/L), Iron (mg/L), Fluoride (mg/L), Potassium (mg/L), Nitrate Nitrogen (mg/L), pH (units), Calcium (mg/L), Magnesium (mg/L), Sodium (mg/L), Sodium Adsorption Ration (units), Total Hardness (mg/L as CaCO3), Sulfate (mg/L), and Total Dissolved Solids(mg/L).
This report will provide your well’s results and the suggested maximum along with it. High Sodium may be of concern for health reasons. High Sodium Adsorption Ration indicate this water will likely inhibit plant growth (not suitable for irrigation).
Suggested maximum levels for Nitrate Nitrogen and Fluoride are mandatory maximums set by The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
mg/L = Milligrams Per Liter or PPM
mpn/100 mls = Most Probable Number Index/ 100 mls