Questions, answered straight

Of course. We meet you at the house and talk you through what the next couple of hours will look like, then get on with the inspection on our own. That part goes better without an audience, since we are opening electrical panels and climbing ladders. When we are finished we walk you through what we found, and we stay as long as it takes to answer your questions.

About two hours on site for a typical single-family home, and roughly two more off site writing the report. Large, custom and older homes on raised foundations take longer; a condominium usually takes less. You get an estimate when you book.

Buyers, as soon as the contract is signed: the standard agreement allows seventeen days for investigations and contingency removal, and REO and foreclosure sales often allow less. Sellers, before the listing goes live, while there is still time to make repairs on your own terms.

Yes. It tells you what you are buying before the money moves, and in a competitive market the report is what you negotiate with. Learn about buyer’s inspections.

All of San Diego County, including Carlsbad, Encinitas, La Jolla, Chula Vista, Escondido, Oceanside, San Marcos, Poway and Del Mar, along with parts of southwest Riverside County. See all service areas.

The price follows square footage. A condominium runs around $400 and a single-family home around $500, quoted in full before you book. Commercial properties are bid. See the fee schedule.

A card when you sign the pre-inspection agreement, or cash or a personal check on the day. Cash takes 8% off. Add-ons are the exception: they are agreed and paid for before we arrive, and are non-refundable once booked.

Within 24 hours, by email, as a PDF. It covers heating, cooling, plumbing, electrical, roofing and the rest of the major systems, with a photo of every finding. Large commercial buildings take longer. See four real reports.

Roof, structure and foundation, electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling, water heater, attic, insulation, ventilation and the built-in appliances, to the InterNACHI Standards of Practice. See what we inspect.

An inspection covers what can be seen and reached on the day, without opening up walls or digging. That takes a great deal of risk off the table, though anything sealed inside a wall or buried underground stays out of reach, and an intermittent fault may not show itself while we are there.

We will say when something needs a specialist, a plumber or an electrician for instance, and where we know someone dependable for that particular problem we will usually pass their name on. We do not solicit bids or take anything for the referral.

California SB-721 requires apartment buildings of three or more units to have their balconies, decks, stairways and walkways inspected for safety. The first deadline is 1 January 2026 and the cycle repeats every six years. SB-721 balcony inspections.

SB-721 covers apartment buildings of three or more units. SB-326 covers condominiums and HOA-governed buildings and runs on a nine-year cycle. Both target the same exterior elevated elements. SB-326 balcony inspections.

A focused look at four systems: roof, electrical, plumbing, and heating and cooling. Insurers ask for it on older homes before they will write or renew a policy. Learn about 4-point inspections.

A camera goes down the main sewer lateral looking for cracks, root intrusion, bellies and blockages. It is worth doing on older San Diego homes, where a line repair runs to thousands that a visual inspection would never have caught. Learn about sewer scope inspections.

We note visible signs of wood-destroying organisms, but the official WDO clearance has to come from a licensed pest control company. We can arrange one when you need it.

Yes. Property condition assessments for offices, retail, industrial and multi-unit buildings across San Diego County, reported in the form buyers, owners and investors need. Commercial building inspections.

Joseph Romeo is an InterNACHI Certified Professional Inspector and holds California CSLB General Contractor License #1113143, with more than twenty years of construction and inspection behind him. Meet Joseph Romeo.