Straight
answers.

It depends on the size and age of the home, the foundation type, and which additional services you want — a sewer scope or radon monitoring, for example. We confirm the price for the services you choose before you book.

Any added services or price changes need your approval first. Thermal imaging is included on every finished-home inspection at no extra charge, and your report is usually delivered the same day. Call or text 704.918.9449 with the address and we'll confirm pricing for the services you need.

Long enough to do it right. A small, newer home moves faster than a large older one with a crawlspace and multiple HVAC systems, so we don't quote a fixed number of hours and then race a clock to hit it.

When you book, we'll tell you roughly how much of the day to keep the house available so your agent and the sellers can plan around it.

Usually the same day. You get a digital, photo-rich report you can read on your phone — clear photos of what we document, plain-English explanations, and no filler padding the page count.

Due diligence periods in this market are short. Waiting two or three days for a report costs you negotiating time you can't get back, so we aim to deliver your report the same day.

You're welcome to come, but it isn't necessary. We recommend joining us for the final walkthrough so we can go over what we found and answer your questions.

If you do want to be there, our suggestion is to come for the last half hour or so. That's when we can walk you through the major defects in person, point out the shutoffs and the panel, and answer questions while everything is fresh.

If you can't make it, the report usually arrives the same day with clear explanations and photos of what we document. Anything still unclear after you've read it — call us and we'll go through it together.

Sooner is better, but we schedule same-week as a rule and we know how tight due diligence windows get. If you're up against a deadline, call us — we'll do everything we can to fit you in.

The greater Charlotte region in both North and South Carolina. In North Carolina that includes Charlotte, Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson, Concord, Kannapolis, Harrisburg, Mooresville, Statesville, Matthews, Mint Hill, Pineville, Indian Trail, Stallings, Monroe, Waxhaw, Weddington, Gastonia, Belmont, Mount Holly, Denver, Lincolnton, Salisbury, Lexington, Winston-Salem and Greensboro.

In South Carolina we cover Fort Mill, Rock Hill, Tega Cay, Lake Wylie, Indian Land, Clover, York and Lancaster. Outside that list? Ask anyway — we travel for the right job.

Yes. 20/20 Property Inspections is licensed to inspect in both North Carolina and South Carolina, and we carry general liability and errors & omissions insurance. Every inspector on our team holds their own state license — we don't send unlicensed help to do the work.

The major readily accessible systems in the home: grounds and drainage, foundation and structure, exterior, roofing and chimney, attic and ventilation, crawlspace, interior, appliances, plumbing, water heater, electrical, and heating and cooling. Thermal imaging is included on finished-home inspections at no extra charge. It helps identify temperature differences that may warrant a closer look; it doesn't see through walls.

The full system-by-system breakdown is on our What's Covered page.

A home inspection is a visual inspection of what is readily accessible on the day we're there. We don't open walls, pull up flooring, dig up buried lines, or move your stored belongings and furniture to see behind them. If a crawlspace hatch is blocked or an attic is stacked to the rafters, we report what we couldn't reach rather than guessing.

We also don't do code enforcement — an inspection is not a code compliance inspection — and we won't promise you how many years are left in a roof or a furnace. Anyone who does is guessing.

Several things sit outside a standard inspection but are available from us as separate services: radon testing, mold air sampling, sewer scopes and pools. Well water testing is available from us too, with samples analyzed by an accredited lab. Termite (wood-destroying insect) reports come from a licensed pest company we coordinate with, and septic systems and well equipment are handled by separate specialists. Tell us and we'll point you to the right one.

Yes, on every finished-home inspection, at no additional cost. We don't treat it as a paid upgrade. It's a tool that helps us spot possible hidden moisture, HVAC problems and temperature differences worth a closer look. It isn't a full thermal or energy scan.

An appraiser works for your lender and answers one question: what is this property worth? An inspector works for you and answers a different one: what condition is it actually in?

An appraisal serves a different purpose: it estimates the home's value for the lender. It isn't designed to evaluate conditions like a leaking water heater or a double-tapped breaker, so it doesn't replace a home inspection.

No — and that's deliberate. An inspector who also sells repairs has a financial reason to find problems, and the licensing rules we work under prohibit it for exactly that reason.

Our only product is an honest opinion about the house. What we will do is tell you plainly what matters, what can wait, and what kind of contractor you need.

You get the facts, in writing, with photos, the same day — and then the decision is yours and your agent's. We don't tell people to walk away and we don't talk anyone into a house.

A major finding isn't automatically a dead deal. It's usually a negotiation, a repair request, or a specialist's second look. Call us once you've read the report and we'll talk it through with you.

Yes, and this is the one people skip most often. New does not mean flawless — houses are built fast by many different crews. The municipal inspection and ours have different jobs: theirs checks for code compliance at set stages, and ours is an independent look, for you, at the finished work and how the systems perform on the day.

The builder's own quality inspector works for the builder. We work for you, and on new construction we document what we find so you can discuss it with the builder before closing.

It's an inspection done after framing, wiring, plumbing and ductwork are in but before the drywall goes up — while the framing and mechanicals are still exposed and easier to see.

Problems such as damaged framing or disconnected ducts can become concealed once drywall is installed, making them harder to identify and access. Ask your builder for the drywall date and call us a few days ahead.

An 11-month inspection helps you document concerns before first-year warranty deadlines. Check your warranty for coverage and submission dates.

Schedule it around month ten so you have time to submit the list. Common items include settling cracks, trim separation, HVAC balance, and grading that has shifted through a full year of weather.

Yes — that's a pre-listing or seller's inspection, and it's one of the most underused tools in this market. You can identify concerns before you list, decide what to address on your own schedule, and go to market prepared for buyers' questions.

We also publish a free seller's checklist to get the house ready before any inspector arrives.

Yes. We inspect the unit itself and the systems serving it — HVAC, water heater, electrical, plumbing, interior, appliances and windows — plus whatever exterior and structural components we can readily access.

Common elements like the roof or shared walls are usually the HOA's responsibility, but maintenance responsibilities depend on the condominium documents, and your unit still needs looking at.

Yes. Pools, commercial buildings, detached shops and barns, and plenty of one-off requests that came in simply because someone picked up the phone and asked. If it's a property and you need to know its condition, ask us — the answer is usually yes.

It can be, and more often than people expect. The EPA rates much of the greater Charlotte region as a moderate radon zone, and individual homes here routinely test above the EPA's action level of 4.0 pCi/L. Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas — you can't see it, smell it or taste it — and it is the leading cause of lung cancer among people who have never smoked.

The important part: radon has nothing to do with a home's age, price or condition. Two identical houses on the same street can test very differently, because the gas comes up out of the ground beneath them. A brand-new home is not exempt. The only way to know about the house you're buying is to test that house — we place a continuous monitor and you have results in about two days.

If the home is on a public sewer line and has any age on it, we'd say yes. Responsibility for the lateral line from the house to the street depends on local utility rules, but it often falls on the homeowner, and repairs can be expensive.

Older Charlotte-area neighborhoods carry the usual suspects: clay tile that cracks and lets roots in, aging cast iron, and — in homes built from roughly the 1940s through the early 1970s — the tar-paper pipe known as Orangeburg, which deforms and collapses with age. Mature trees anywhere near the line raise the odds considerably. It's worth doing on new construction too, where we sometimes find construction debris left in the line.

A camera down the line before closing costs a fraction of finding out afterward.