Frequently Asked Questions

Professional home inspectors are required to be licensed in the State of Tennessee. All of All-Pro’s home inspectors have met all of Tennessee’s requirements for home inspectors.

All our inspectors are Certified Inspection Experts. Every complete home inspection from a Certified Inspection Expert goes beyond the minimum standards most inspectors adhere to in a meaningful way. This means we check for major appliance recalls, guarantee our work with a real mechanical and structural warranty, and offer guarantees about the condition of items that can’t be inspected like underground water and sewer lines. In many ways, the inspection from a Certified Inspection Expert exceeds all others in the marketplace. Every home inspection from a Certified Inspection Expert is of incredible quality. To ensure this quality, the Certified Inspection Expert is the only certification that requires ongoing quality control from a third party.

We carry Errors and Omissions, General Liability, and Workers Comp insurance to protect all parties involved.

We require 24-hour advance notice to cancel a home inspection. Otherwise, we charge a $95 fee. Same-day cancellations will be charged half of the inspection fee. Please also remember that if the inspection is on a home that is in foreclosure or on a new construction, be sure the utilities are turned on at least 24 hours before the scheduled inspection.

This is our contract that must be signed prior to the home inspection. It will outline what the inspection includes and does not include. It will also have important notes about the standard protocols we follow. It is important that you read and understand the agreement prior to your inspection.

A home inspection includes a thorough inspection of the major systems of the structure including the exterior, interior, plumbing, electrical, and HVAC. Plan on allowing between 2.5 to 3.5 hours.

During a pre-drywall construction phase inspection, we’ll examine structural components, plumbing, electrical, and HVAC rough-ins. Allow about 90 minutes for this inspection.

When scheduling your final inspection, be sure all the utilities are turned on. Cosmetic items and inaccessible areas are not part of the inspection process. View all services to see a more detailed list of what each inspection includes.

It is to your benefit to attend the inspection. The inspector will point out any areas of concern directly to you and you can ask questions and discuss any issues you may already have. If you can’t attend the entire home inspection, it will still be beneficial if you show up 90 minutes after the inspection begins to speak with the inspector.

If you cannot be present at all, payment and agreement must be received before you will be able to access your report.

Your inspector will email a link for the digital report to you within 24 hours of your inspection. You can then download it as a PDF file if you wish or view it as an HTML. The report includes digital photos and details of what we discovered during the home inspection. For descriptions and samples of specific reports, please view all services and choose an inspection type. Each inspection report is considered confidential and other than your realtor, no one can view it without your permission. You are not required to give the report to the homeowner or the listing agent.

When you schedule your appointment, we will send an email link that allows you to pay by credit card or ACH. You may also pay in cash at the time of the appointment. If, however, you are not present during the inspection, payment and agreement must be received before you can access the report. We do not accept checks.

For nonsmokers, radon is the top cause of death from lung cancer. Because this odorless, invisible gas seeps into homes through cracks in slabs, foundations, footing joints, loose fitting pipes, and many other ways, the EPA recommends all homes be tested for radon gas. Once radon gas infiltrates a building, it becomes trapped and may reach dangerous levels.

In a home, mold thrives in areas where moisture is found. Check areas where flooding, plumbing leaks, and roof leaks were or are present; also, check showers, bathtubs, refrigerator water pans, and any other areas where moisture is present. Mold can be present on surfaces, and it can travel through the air as spores. Some types are toxic.

For most people, mold can cause allergic symptoms, but for those with asthma or compromised immune systems (children, the elderly, pregnant women, or cancer patients), mold can trigger more serious health risks.

The only way to know for certain if mold is toxic or not is to conduct a mold test by taking a sample and sending it to a laboratory. If the mold is found to be toxic, the mold must be cleaned by an industrial hygienist, and it must be eradicated.

Yes! Even though newly constructed homes have walk-throughs with county inspectors prior to closing, our new home inspections are more in-depth. We typically uncover items such as code violations, damaged roof shingles, nail holes in the roof shingles, missing flashings, deck problems, electrical issues, HVAC errors, and plumbing problems.

At All-Pro we will spend two to three hours inspecting the home. Identifying problems sooner rather than later can save thousands of dollars in repairs. If there are code violations, the builder may be required to fix the items for you. Code violations may pose a problem for you if you decide to sell the home later. Keep in mind that cosmetic items are not part of the final inspection.

Most builders include a one-year warranty on a new build. We recommend that homeowners schedule an inspection with All-Pro around the 11-month mark of new home ownership before the warranty on your new home expires. We will thoroughly inspect the home to look for any defects that the builder needs to fix so that you’re not stuck with repairs later. We don’t want you to have to “pay twice” for your new home. We can perform a one-year warranty inspection whether or not we conducted an inspection prior to purchase.

Synthetic stucco (EIFS) is a “barrier system” and is a polymer based system installed over fiberglass mesh. It is frequently installed incorrectly, which allows water to penetrate the surface. Moisture becomes trapped inside with no way to escape. This can lead to mold, wood rot, and other problems.

Hardcoat stucco is made from portland based cement applied over a wire mesh. It can also have installation errors and can experience similar moisture issues to synthetic stucco.

Yes. To get an accurate moisture level reading, we must use a probe meter. While it is an invasive test, the holes the probe makes are very tiny — about the size of a pin head — and we re-caulk them after the inspection is finished. Our inspectors work carefully so as not to cause damage to the exterior of the home.

Synthetic stucco is a “barrier system” made of a concrete mixture with a rubber base. It is supposedly impenetrable. However, it is frequently installed incorrectly, which allows water to penetrate the surface. Moisture becomes trapped inside with no way to escape. This can lead to mold, wood rot, and other problems.

Hardcoat stucco is made from real concrete. It is porous and subject to hairline cracks, so it may also retain water. Generally, the synthetic product has more moisture problems than does hardcoat.

Let your builder know that you are scheduling a pre-drywall inspection so that he can inform you when the framing phase is completed. Builders generally allow just a few short days between framing and drywalling. The mechanical rough-ins of the plumbing, electrical, and HVAC should also be completed before you conduct the pre-drywall inspection.

The inspector will verify that the structural components, as well as the plumbing, electrical, and HVAC, have been roughed in and comply with the current code.

Before your final walk-through with the builder, All-Pro will do a complete home inspection of the mechanical and structural components of your home. If you completed a framing inspection, the inspector will refer to the framing report to ensure repairs were made correctly. We will then complete a full inspection on the completed home.