Property Inspection (Pre-Purchase)
Pre-purchase is the Comprehensive Environmental Assessment applied to a home you haven't bought yet — same scope, same rigor, timed around due diligence. Not sold separately; it's the full evaluation, framed for a buyer.
See the full assessment →The forensic layer your home inspection doesn't cover
A standard home inspection barely scratches the surface on mold, moisture, and air quality. Most general inspectors aren't running thermal imaging systematically across the whole envelope. Most aren't pulling borescope access. Most aren't sampling air or surfaces. That's not a criticism — that's just outside the scope of what a general home inspection is designed to do.
A pre-purchase environmental inspection is a different scope. We apply the Comprehensive Environmental Assessment to a home you don't yet own — client intake (goals, concerns, family health history), systematic visual, thermal mapping, moisture metering, borescope where the evidence points, strategic sampling, and a plain-English written report you can use during negotiations or walk away from confidently.
Before you spend a dollar with me or with anybody, go learn the stuff you can for free. The education pages on this site will get you far. When you're ready for a forensic look at a specific home, that's what this engagement is for.
Book a Mold ConsultBefore you spend a dollar with me or with anybody, go learn the stuff you can for free.
— Andrew Melrose, IEP
Features & Benefits
Forensic, Not Cursory
A complete environmental walk — thermal imaging, moisture mapping, borescope access where warranted. Goes deeper than a general home inspection in the areas that actually matter for indoor health.
Buyer-Side, No Conflicts
Independent of the seller, the listing agent, and the mortgage lender. We work for the buyer only — so the report tells you what's actually in the home.
Negotiation-Ready Report
A written report in plain English with photographs, moisture readings, thermal images, and a remediation scope if one is warranted — something you can take into negotiations with a spec you can point to.
Due-Diligence Timing
We work within due-diligence windows. If you need the report in hand before your deadline, we schedule the walk quickly and turn the report around without cutting corners.
How It Works
Intake & Scope
We talk through what you know about the property — disclosure documents, the general inspection report, anything the seller's mentioned — and what the buyer's specific concerns are. The intake shapes where the walk concentrates.
On-Site Assessment
A systematic walk of the home with the full instrument kit: bright-light visual, thermal imaging, moisture meter, borescope where warranted, and strategic sampling based on what the walk surfaces.
Report & Negotiation Support
A written report in plain English with findings, photos, and a remediation scope if one is needed — in time for due diligence. We're also available by phone through the closing window.
What Our Clients Say
Frequently Asked Questions
A general home inspection covers structural, mechanical, and safety systems — roof, foundation, HVAC, plumbing, electrical. A pre-purchase environmental inspection covers mold, moisture, air quality, and (where relevant) radon, asbestos, and lead. Different scopes; both valuable. Most serious buyers of older or higher-value homes get both.
Yes — most pre-purchase engagements happen on a 7-21 day window. We schedule the walk within 48 hours of engagement in most cases, and the written report lands 3-5 business days after. If you have a tighter timeline, we can often accommodate; call to discuss.
A written report with findings organized by area and severity, annotated photographs, thermal images where they surfaced something, moisture readings, lab results on any samples, and — if warranted — a remediation scope a buyer's agent can use in negotiations. Plain-English throughout, no filler.
You have options. The most common are: renegotiate on price to cover remediation, request the seller address it before closing, or walk away. The report gives you the specifics to make an informed decision rather than guessing. We're also available by phone to help you think through the tradeoffs.
Inside the Comprehensive Environmental Assessment
The default engagement: a complete Comprehensive Environmental Assessment applied to the purchase, with a written report scoped for due-diligence timing. This is what buyers of older homes, CIRS-sensitive buyers, and high-value purchases come to us for.