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​​Email:

rivalhomeinspections@gmail.com

 Call or text us now at:

​905.922.5437


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Rival Home Inspections 


Home Inspections Starting at $400​

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​Serving Toronto, Durham, York, Peel, Halton, Simcoe, Brant, Dufferin, Kawartha Lakes, H​amilton, Waterloo, Peterborough and all the GTA Regions

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Proudly Serving

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Ajax, Aurora, Barrie, Bowmanville, Bramalea, Brampton, Brantford, Brock, Brooklin, Burlington, Caledon, Cambridge, Clarington, Cobourg, East Gwillmbury, East York, Etobicoke, GTA, Guelph, Halton Hills, Hamilton, Kawartha Lakes, King, Kitchener, Lindsay, Malton, Markham, Milton, Mississauga, Newmarket,  North York, Northumberland, Oakville, Orangeville, Oshawa, Peterborough, Pickering, Port Hope, Port Perry, Rexdale, Richmond Hill, Scarborough, Scugog, Simcoe, Stouffville, St. Catherines, Thornhill, Toronto, Uxbridge, Vaughan, Waterloo, Whitby, Whitchurch, York.


What "The Industry" Says
    In Ontario, all home inspectors need to be a member of a major professional association such as CanNACHI (Canadian National Association of Certified Home Inspectors).  


    CanNACHI's 'final exam' for new home inspectors is called a TIPR (Test Inspection Peer Review). Basically, the examiners have pre-inspected a house for deficiencies (including making some of their own) and turn loose all the home inspection students to look for these deficiencies. This exam/inspection is limited to 3-hours for the site inspection itself (students are given to the end of the day to turn in the written report).  


    So, according to CanNACHI, a newly qualified home inspector should be able to inspect a complete house to the standards of practice within 3 hours. With experience, home inspectors will be able to shave 30 min or even a little more off this time. 


House Size, Complexities, and Deficiencies
    When we book a 'standard' house, we are thinking of a single-family house up to about 2,000 sq ft with a single kitchen and up to 3 bathrooms. When houses start to get larger or include extra kitchens or bathrooms, it will naturally require additional time to complete the inspection. This will be budgeted in at the time of the inspection booking.  


    Older homes are also typically more complex to inspect. Older homes have often been through more than one renovation cycle, have building materials that may be past the expected service life requiring extra attention, and have smaller accesses to areas like attics or crawlspaces. 


   The biggest variable to inspection time is writing up building defects. Identified defects take time for inspectors to properly document. If a home has many defects, this can add considerable time to the home inspection.


Inspection Add-On's and Extra Services
    The standards of practice for a home inspection lay out the minimum levels of service to be provided but some clients want to add on services like Infrared Inspections and mold testing, and some home inspectors go above and beyond the basics which can take additional time.

 

    There are inspectors who plan to spend a full day in a home looking for issues. They may remove additional electrical covers and inspect wiring, they may run comprehensive tests on mechanical equipment, or they may just be slow at what they do. Be careful of inspectors offering to go too far past the standards of practice as the professional standards already are designed to offer you protection against the major concerns of a home purchase. Some of these inspectors are just looking for a way to get extra money from you for time spent on frivolous extras (it is easier to get more money from less clients than to find more clients).

 

How Long Do We Budget for Inspections?

    At Rival Inspection Services, we tell clients to budget for these 'normal' inspection times unless additional services or known complexities are present.

 

  • House Inspection - 3 hours budgeted +/- 30 min including the verbal report and walk-through

  • Townhouse Inspection - 2.5 hours budgeted +/- 30 min including the verbal report and walk-through

  • Condo Inspection - 2 hours budgeted +/- 20 min including the verbal report and walk-through

How Long Does a Home Inspection Take to Complete?

    One of the most common questions asked when clients call to book a home inspection is, "How long should the inspection take to complete?". In fairness, this is a really practical question, as clients need to plan their inspection day as much as the inspector does.

 

    Every home is unique which means every home will take a different amount of time to properly inspect, however, most homes will fall into a 'normal' inspection time frame for the inspector. What is 'normal' to a home inspector however can vary based on the inspector's experience, levels of service, and any add-ons to the inspection.