Inspection Types

ProVantage Inspection Reports: General

The ProVantage Property Inspection report is a defect and description report. In most cases, but not all, the report will provide information that devalues the home compared to the assessment of the untrained eye.  The defects are referred to as “Issues”, and each issue is described in terms of recommended actions and options for improvement, and the risk associated with the issue. Along with the issues, a mandatory description of the house is included in the report.

The report does not grade the quality of components or systems that do not have visible deficiencies. In other words, it lists only the defects, and not any of the good features of the property. No attempt is made to balance the strengths with the weaknesses, including comparison to “averages” by house type, age or neighbourhood.

The purpose is to build knowledge for the client on deficiencies that may result in upcoming costs, effort, safety risks, or lack of comfort.

The Pre-Purchase Inspection: A must-have.

This inspection is done during the “conditional” period after an offer to purchase has been made, and before the deal is “firm”.  This is the most common inspection scenario. With permission of the seller, the inspection can also be done prior to making an offer to purchase. The inspector and client visit the house at a scheduled time, and the buying salesperson opens the house and stays at the house during the inspection, as guided by their board rules. The electronic reporting includes the full report in a secured pdf with photographs of the most significant defects, an unsecured summary list of issues that is useful for communicating with real estate agents or other parties, and some rough cost estimates of the more common and predictable work requirements. This package of information is generally completed and e-mailed the day following the inspection.

Warranty inspection on newly built homes: We call it the worthwhile warranty inspection.

In Ontario, the new home warranty program is administered by Tarion. See www.Tarion.com . The ProVantage inspection of a new home is similar in approach to the pre-purchase inspection. The nature of issues found is different, as they are builder defects and incomplete work rather than wear and tear or nonprofessional renovations found in pre-purchase inspections. The report is a customized format to facilitate data entry by the home owner in to the appropriate on-line warranty forms. The warranty report does not include a description of the home. Inspections can be done to meet the 30 day, 1- year, or less commonly, the 2-year warranty reporting opportunities.

Post-possession Inspection: Highly Recommended!

Sometimes there simply is no time or opportunity to do an inspection before firming the offer. Many clients have benefited from an inspection done after taking possession of the house. Whether this be on the first day of possession, or many years after taking possession, the inspection can establish priorities for renovation, repairs and maintenance. The inspection and report is the same as for a pre-purchase inspection. These inspections are a lot of fun because the homeowner and inspector can take their time, having free reign over the house.

Inspection of the home you are selling: Proceed with Caution!

Occasionally I come a cross so called pre-sale inspection reports that are done with the intention of giving buyers peace of mind that the home has already been inspected. These are often paid for by the selling salesperson. Unfortunately, these reports tend to be incomplete at best, and can be close to being a bogus representation of the home. Inspectors are writing these reports at a reduced fee, and under the pressure of the salesperson that has a vested interest in the message conveyed by the report. I have seen pre-sale reports that actually say good things about a house, as if they are an extension of the listing information and advertising. Most buyers are too savvy to trust these pre-sale reports. When ProVantage does an inspection, that report will result in a long list of defects, typically from 30 to 50 defects per house. I see no merit in doing this inspection unless there is a genuine intent to act upon the defects identified, and usually that is not the case. The ProVantage inspection will educate the seller on issues with the home that may previously have been considered latent. This knowledge may change the seller’s disclosure requirements. I recommend discussing disclosure requirements, and the impact of the presale home inspection on disclosure requirements with your lawyer before deciding on the presale inspection.

Inspections we don’t do!

This info is to save you time, so you can look elsewhere for these inspections. ProVantage does not do the following:

1) Commercial inspections

2)Inspections after waiving the inspection clause but before possession. Such as an inspection during a pre-approved visit.

3) Hi-rise condominium inspections. Only ground level townhouse condos are inspected. No hi-rise condos, stacked condos, or condos with underground parking

4) Pre-Delivery (PDI) inspection. This is an inspection of a newly built house prior to taking possession