Most home inspectors can provide services in addition to the standard home inspection. NJ Home inspectors typically also perform radon. Radon testing is important because radon is a radioactive gas that comes from the breakdown of uranium in soil and in rock. People are exposed to radon all the time but if they are exposed to higher levels of radon concentration over a longer period, for example in a home that they own they have a higher probability of contracting lung cancer. Radon is a radioactive cancer-causing gas. Radon exposure is the actual documented second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. It is estimated that over 21,000 radon related deaths occur in the United States every year. Radon testing is an important part of what home inspectors do in New Jersey. The home inspector should have a radon license to perform radon testing in the home that you are thinking about buying. However, if the home inspector does not have a radon license you should still hire a company to perform radon testing in the home. High Radon is not difficult to fix. It is a cost-effective fix that can prevent tragedy as you live in the home. When you are hiring a home inspector make sure that he or she can perform the radon testing in the home you are thinking about purchasing.
New Jersey Home inspectors can also perform wood destroying insect inspections. Not all home inspectors are WDI inspectors. Here in New Jersey to use the MPMA 33 form which is what the majority of lenders need a home inspector must have a pesticide applicator’s license with a 7B endorsement. The 7B endorsement is the training that allows the home inspector to perform termite and other wood destroying insect inspections in New Jersey and utilize the required reporting form. Not all home inspectors perform WDI inspections. It is advantageous that the home inspector that you hire has undergone training and is a capable wood destroying insect inspector. Wood destroying insects such as termites, carpenter bees, powder post-Beatles, carpenter ants can cause thousands upon thousands of dollars of damages in a home. The home inspector needs to be educated and trained and know what to look for to determine if wood destroying insect activity or damage is occurring in a home that you are thinking about buying. Make sure to ask the question when you are interviewing home inspectors are you trained to perform WDI inspections. If the home inspector indicates that he or she is not, then you should hire an outside WDI inspector to properly inspect the home you’re buying for wood destroying insects and if you have a mortgage provide the proper NPMA-33 inspection form that most lenders are going to require.
Some NJ home inspectors also perform mold testing. Mold has become a significant hot button over the last few years because additional studies have been done to indicate that mold in homes is harmful. The new buyer of the property of course wants to know if there is any visible mold present in the home. Some home inspectors perform mold inspections in conjunction with the home inspection, others do not. In New Jersey mold is excluded from an inspection item in the standards of practice. However, you should hire a home inspector who is trained in mold inspection. If he or she finds suspected molds it is crucially important for that home inspector to explain his findings and to properly document them. Well trained home inspectors are going to understand mold and how to look for it and identify it. Well-trained home inspectors are also going to have the ability to test it. There are two types of tests for mold in homes. One is a simple surface test which is done by utilizing a sterile swab or tape lift device to acquire a direct sample of suspected mold material in the home. For example, this could be on a foundation wall, on a ceiling, on a finished wall, or in the attic. The sample is then sent to the environmental laboratory for analysis. The laboratory will determine if the substance is mold and what type of mold does exist. If the sample is positive for active mold the lab should indicate if the affected areas should be remediated. Mold is everywhere and we as people are exposed to mold constantly. What we do not want to do is be exposed to high concentrations of mold spores. Elevated levels of mold in homes can have a variety of negative health effects for those exposed to it. This is especially true for the young and for immune compromised individuals. The last thing you want is to move into a home and then find out that there’s elevated levels of mold in the dwelling. A well-trained home inspector will be versed in identifying mold and reporting it. A well-trained home inspector should also be credentialed and certified to test it if needed.
Home inspectors should also have the ability to perform air testing in homes. Mold air testing is important because sometimes mold is not visible. Elevated levels of mold can exist behind walls and in carpeting and cause sickness to people. A good home inspector would have the ability and equipment to perform air testing in the home that you’re thinking about purchasing. Some clients want to do additional due diligence, and this is due diligence can also include air quality testing in the home. Air quality testing in the home is performed by using a device called a vacuum pump coupled with a spore trap device. Air is drawn into the spore trap device using the vacuum pump for a specific volume of air and time. The spore traps then are sent to an environmental laboratory to determine if any anomaly does exist. Air testing provides the customer with another layer of information that they would not have if they just had a standard home inspection. Not all clients are going to choose this option, but it is important for home inspectors to understand the methodologies and testing procedures and deliver this testing if requested to the client. If an air test for example in the basement comes back elevated. That can allow the client to do additional due diligence in the basement or other affected areas to determine if that problem is significant and if it can be corrected. With today’s prices for homes, doing surface testing if necessary and air testing if requested provides today’s home inspection client with more information about the home that they are purchasing.
New Jersey Home inspectors should also have the ability to perform sewer line inspections. The sewer line inspection has really come into its own over the last few years and has become an exceedingly popular inspection with clients. The reason a sewer line inspection is important is because a home inspector does not have the ability to inspect the sewer line or lateral to the house which is the main waste pipe from the home to the street connection without putting a camera inside that piping. Here in New Jersey, there are thousands upon thousands of older homes. These older homes are likely to have sewer lines that are in poor condition, damaged, offset, or have tree root intrusion. Good home inspectors will be trained in sewer line inspection so they can perform this very important inspection and alert their clients to any deficiencies in the sewer line. A sewer line is only visible with a push camera. Sewer lines are expensive to repair, re-line or replace. The typical sewer line repair or replacement will exceed $8000. It is important that a home inspector be versed and educated in the use of a push camera and be able to identify the various defects that can happen to a sewer line.
The only ancillary service that a home inspector should not perform is an oil tank location. This service should be performed by an oil tank location company who does oil tank location or sweeping as a full-time business. Oil tank location is both an art form and a science. Doing it correctly for someone who does not have thousands of hours of experience can cause a lot of heartache for a client. If the tank is missed and the tank has leakage the client will be left holding the bag for potentially tens of thousands of dollars. Environmental discharge and environmental damage are extremely expensive to cure and can be quite invasive and disrupting. In my experience home inspectors just do not have the amount of volume associated with this type of oil tank location to perform this with complete accuracy. Also, home inspector insurance does not have missed oil tank coverage. It is up to the home inspectors to acquire additional insurance to cover a missed tank. This also goes further; the home inspector must also have the required environmental insurance to cover environmental cleanup in the event that he or she does not locate a tank that is buried under the property around the house. Most home inspectors simply use a magnetic locator which is often set off by metal underground, rock formations or rebar. The only true way to know if an oil tank does not exist is to then follow up with a ground penetrating radar system. A ground penetrating radar system is much more accurate at determining if a potential anomaly is an oil tank or not. So, when choosing an oil tank location company, it is advantageous to choose one that does both magnetic location coupled with the possibility of using ground penetrating radar if an anomaly is found. You must also make sure that the company performing the oil tank location is properly insured for an environmental discharge from an oil tank that they failed to locate on the property that you are thinking about purchasing. It is for these reasons that I do not recommend home inspectors perform this service for clients. This service is better left to companies that specialize in this service.
A comprehensive home inspector will be associated with an environmental laboratory so he or she can perform other environmental testing if the client requests them. Some of this testing may include water testing, volatile organic compound testing, allergy and asbestos testing. It is true that not all clients want or need these types of testing but there are clients who want to take that extra step and piece of due diligence and do more than what is typical. Home inspectors should continue to educate themselves and further their ability and provide the testing that the client wants or requests. Home inspectors who can provide a variety of services are more convenient for the customer. The client can hire one home inspector who performs a variety of different testing rather than having to farmout this testing to other companies. This saves the client money and time because the home inspector is at the site already performing the home inspection. If another company must come in and drive to the location and spend additional time the fee will be higher than having a single home inspector perform a variety of the testing that is required by the client.
Home inspectors are more than just home inspectors. They must adapt to the ever-changing landscape of the home inspection field by adapting and continuing to expand their knowledge base. Most clients want more than just the standard home inspection. Well-trained home inspectors will be able to provide a wide variety of additional inspection services for the modern home inspection client.