Notes from the field

A slow drain is a symptom.

A College Area or SDSU-adjacent home inspection focuses on what 70 years of…

To prevent mold in coastal San Diego homes, keep indoor humidity under 50 percent, run…

A pre-listing inspection means you hire your own inspector before you put the home on the…

San Diego gets most of its rain in a few storms.

Pressure and flow are different problems.

Two kinds of protective outlet, two different jobs.

A kitchen inspection is the portion of a standard home inspection where the inspector…

Flashing at chimneys, walls, valleys and vents is where nearly every roof leak starts.

New construction phase inspections are independent checks performed at key stages of a…

A pre-listing inspection checklist for San Diego sellers comes down to three jobs: make…

In San Diego, the buyer almost always pays for the home inspection.

For most San Diego homes, the choice between central AC and a ductless mini-split comes…

In California, contingency removal is the step where you, the buyer, formally waive a…

Yes. Newly built homes in San Diego still need an independent home inspection.

The most common signs of mold in your home are a persistent musty or earthy smell, dark…

California law requires working smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each sleeping…

Coastal salt air and winter storms work on the same few spots.

A solar panel inspection when buying a San Diego home means two separate checks: the…

A closed plumbing system has nowhere for heated water to expand.

The cost of termite treatment in San Diego varies widely depending on the species, the…

Popcorn ceilings in older San Diego homes can contain asbestos, and no visual home…

Infrared thermal imaging finds hidden moisture, missing insulation, and overheating…

Federal Pacific Stab-Lok and Zinsco panels have a history of breakers that fail to trip.

A retail or restaurant building inspection in San Diego is a visual, non-invasive look at…

El Niño storm prep for San Diego homes means getting ahead of heavier-than-normal rain…

Duct leakage is one of the most common and least visible defects we find.

If you're buying a home in rural San Diego County, there's a good chance it's on a…

A buyer's inspection and a seller's (pre-listing) inspection are the same thorough…

This home inspection checklist gives San Diego buyers a system-by-system list of what to…

To shut off your water in an emergency, turn the main water valve, usually located near…

A Mira Mesa home inspection should focus on the realities of 1970s-80s tract…

Equipment, plumbing, bonding and barriers.

A property may be exempt or out of scope for SB-721 when it has fewer than three dwelling…

A home inspection checks a furnace for operation and visible defects.

Home inspection cost in San Diego depends mostly on the property itself: square footage…

Haze between the panes is a broken insulated glass unit.

California's SB 721 deadline for the first balcony inspection was January 1, 2026, after…

A Rancho Peñasquitos home inspection should focus on what defines this inland North City…

A San Diego apartment building inspection checklist covers a representative sample of…

A virtual home inspection in San Diego means a licensed inspector physically inspects the…

San Diego homes are topped mostly by three roof types: concrete or clay tile, asphalt…

San Diego has both.

After an inspection, San Diego sellers should make safety repairs and the cheap fixes…

This printable home inspection checklist for San Diego buyers gives you a room-by-room…

After a San Diego inspection, you usually have three ways to resolve findings: make the…

Technically, anyone can walk through a house and point out problems, but they should not…

Most deck failures start at the ledger where the deck meets the house.

An electrical subpanel is a smaller distribution panel fed from your main panel, used to…

Your main water shutoff is the single valve that stops all water to a San Diego home.

Mild winters make insulation feel optional.

A door that sticks, drags or will not latch is sometimes a hinge screw and sometimes the…

California requires every tank-type water heater to be braced against earthquakes with…

Most cracks in a San Diego home are cosmetic settling - hairline drywall lines from…

The serial number on the outdoor unit dates the system.

When you buy a San Diego condo, the home inspection covers the unit you own - but the HOA…

In San Diego, gas vs electric homes comes down to what powers your heat, water heater…

The auto-reverse on a garage door opener fails quietly.

In California, the home inspection contingency is part of the broader investigation of…

Most stucco cracks on San Diego homes are cosmetic - thin hairline lines from normal…

Two valves matter after an earthquake, and one tool.

Most foundation cracks in San Diego are cosmetic, not catastrophic.

An EV charger readiness inspection in San Diego means checking whether a home's…

To prepare your San Diego home for a heat wave, service your HVAC before peak demand…

In older San Diego homes, inspections most often flag aging roofs, deteriorated cast-iron…

Dishwasher installation defects are common and cheap to fix.