Welcome to the Professional Home Inspection Company of the Twin Cities

Our Inspectors are Licensed by the Cities that require

Truth in Sale/Time of Sale Evaluations that are mandatory before a home is put on the market.

In Minnesota there is no state licensing required for Private Inspectors,
your best choice is with City Licensed Private Evaluator. 

Call our office to schedule your Inspection or Evaluation and with any other questions for an Inspector 

651-646-0009

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We Inspect and Evaluate Houses throughout the Twin City Metro Area and Wisconsin

Please "Click" around the site, you may learn something...

Click here to view Your Minneapolis Truth in Housing reports

St. Paul Truth in Sale of Housing                                                

New Ordinance Changes

Minneapolis Truth in Sale of Housing 

Maplewood Truth in Sale of Housing                                   Are you all wet in your basement?

South St. Paul Time of Sale

Bloomington Time of Sale

This is a backflow preventer

A backflow preventer keeps water from being drawn back into the drinking water of the house.

As of June 1st, 2002 under the Truth in Sale guidelines of Minneapolis it is a "RR" (repair or Replace) requirement on any threaded faucet, which typically would be at the laundry tub and any exterior hose bibbs.

Bloomington and South St. Paul also require the installation of these devices under their Time of Sale Evaluations.

All of our Inspectors have electronic lock box key cards

If a structural component is unable to carry its intended load it must be marked Hazardous.

If there is structural failure or potential for immediate structural failure, it must be marked as being Hazardous.

If any of the following items are present in a home or garage, they must be marked as being Hazardous: Missing knockouts in electrical service panels and any typically metal outlet or junction boxes, missing coverplates, open junction boxes, all exposed wiring.

If there were evidence of over-fusing or tampering, (a 60Amp service would be considered as over fused if it has more than one 220Volt-appliance circuit installed). If the service ground is not properly installed (It is necessary to have the jumper wire installed across the water meter if the panel ground doesn’t extend to the City side of the water meter). 

 

If any 3-prong grounded type outlets are not grounded, if GFCI outlets are not functioning properly, ungrounded fixtures or outlets that are too close to a grounding source.

If there are missing or damaged components that present an immediate potential for an electrical shock.

An excessive number of extension cords or any extension cords that run through floors or walls, any extension cords that are being used as permanent wiring (garage door openers, washers, dryers, sump pumps etc. are major household appliances that must be wired directly to an outlet with its designed cord).

Exterior wiring: any broken bulbs or fixtures, damaged or improperly installed wiring (any that is not water-resistant), no wiring over pools or hot tubs.

Cleanout plugs missing in floor drains

(click on a photo to enlarge)

     

Waste and Vent lines that are leaking or abandoned drain lines are not properly capped.  Plumbing fixtures must have a water sealed trap, any fixtures leaking waste, if the water supply has been disconnected to any fixture it is Hazardous.

Any gas leaks, old gas light piping that is left in place and still connected to the gas supply.

Any uncapped or improperly capped piping.

Any control valves for water heater that are broken or missing.

If a water heater is improperly installed on a combustible floor.

If the water heaters relief valve is not properly installed.

If the discharge pipe from the relief valve is capped off or plugged.

If relief valve installation visually indicates it could be inoperative.

Combustion exhaust vent lines that are deteriorated, separated, missing, not sealed into the chimney, or is not drafting fumes properly (a simple smoke test with a match can be done to test draft), lacking proper clearance to combustibles, confined installations must have proper combustion air.

Signs of leakage.

Cracks in combustion chamber

Clearance to combustibles.

Safety controls missing or visibly defective.

Free standing gas space heaters in bathrooms or sleeping rooms (any heaters that take their combustion air from interior rooms).

No backflow prevention on water supply to boiler, no check valve or relief valve.

If pipe from relief valve is capped or plugged, visibly inoperative.

No backflow preventer or check valve.

If there is no automatic low water cut off valve.

If there is no temperature pressure relief valve.

If pipe from relief valve is capped or plugged, or if valve is visibly inoperative.

Holes in vent lines.

Vent line not firmly sealed into chimney.

Vent line is disconnected or has gaps.

Lacking proper clearance to combustibles (common single walled vents need minimum of 6" distance from combustibles).

Any urethane insulation exposed in the home and is not properly installed (foam insulation will emit harmful gas when burned).

If no smoke detectors are installed or not properly located.

Single family homes require hard-wired detectors in St. Paul.

Transite chimneys with any signs of deterioration.

Any solid fuel appliances that share a flue with a gas fired appliance.

 

Multi Family Housing Consultants

 

Easter Pix