I’m a home inspector and lifelong Staten Island resident assisting clients in the New York City area.
Interested in getting a quote? Contact me at 347-283-2821, so we can discuss any concerns you have about a property.
My email is colchianhomeinspections@gmail.com
About Me
Hi there. My name is Chris Jones, the solo business owner of Colchian Home Inspections, Inc.
I studied to become a home inspector at New York Home Inspector School. After passing the state test, I earned my license number: 16000170107.
Licensed home inspectors inform buyers or owners about the current condition of a dwelling, and will often discover defects that interested parties didn’t know existed. If you hire me to be your home inspector, you’re gaining the power of my perceptive eyes. I’ll make sure you learn what you need to, so you can make an informed decision about a home.
What Is a Home Inspection?
A home inspection involves a thorough, but non-invasive non-exhaustive evaluation of a home. (The non-invasive part means that home inspectors won’t be dismantling anything other than opening a breaker box and won’t be moving or reorganizing items in a home.) (The non-exhaustive part is a legal way of saying that home inspectors can’t see through walls, so we can’t be liable for something such as being unable to find hidden mold behind a wall.) A crucial part of a home inspection is teaching our clients through a report document (and through some helpful advice on site).
Some home inspectors value checklist style reports, while others utilize narratives, and some inspectors use a mixture of both. You can expect more narrative-driven reports from me. Reports focus on identifying deficiencies in condition and recommendations for what can be done to remedy those flaws. Though when relevant, I will point out positive aspects of a home that are in seemingly good condition.
Radon Service:
I also provide a service for testing and measuring radon which is a radioactive gas without any smell, taste, or visibility. In excess, this gas is one of the leading causes of lung cancer in non-smokers. It’s recommended that a home undergoes radon mediation if the radon level is 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) or higher. The odd thing about detecting radon is that because it is a geological issue, the radon level beneath one home might be quite different from the radon level of their next-door neighbor.
I use a digital radon monitor (instead of charcoal test kits) so you won’t have to wait potentially days or weeks to get your results back from a lab. Depending on how long you and the homeowner would like me to set it up for, it can display immediate results in 2-7 days. (Though we can obtain a clearer average if we leave the device in place for the full 7 days.)
FYI:
Just to be as forthright as possible, I do not currently have a mold inspection license, so I can’t definitively claim if there is mold, but I can detail the possibility of a mold-like substance.
However, I do have a pesticide technician license to inspect for WDI (wood-destroying insects).
If you have a FHA loan (Federal Housing Administration) and VA loan (Veteran’s Administration), you probably need to have a NPMA33 WDO document as part of your inspection.
How Long an Inspection Might Take:
Depending on the size of a home, an inspection’s time can vary. But for an average home of around 2000-2500sqft, a thorough inspection can be around 3 hours. Maybe a little more if I find many defects, or a little less if I don’t find many issues. (But much larger homes can take longer.)
How Long It Might Take to Receive Your Report:
After our inspection concludes, I’ll return home to begin composing your report. Once I’ve completed it, I’ll email a PDF file to you along with a web link if possible since most report-writing software will allow you to view your report online if you like.
I can usually deliver a report later that day if it’s a smaller property without many defects, or the next day because some larger homes may take many hours to complete a report with my thorough sorting method. I find it inadvisable to rush out a report to a client on site without taking time to review if everything necessary is in order.
Concerns:
I’m not going to be an alarmist (unless I find something such as a critical safety hazard). Thankfully, I haven’t found any such imminent dangers during my inspections so far.
What You Can Learn from a Home Inspection:
Many home buyers and home owners may not have the knowledge of what defects to look for to make a more informed decision. That’s where licensed home inspectors come in. The Staten Island instructor I studied under the most was Debra Monte. She instilled in her students that a crucial part of our job as home inspectors is to educate our clients about their prospective new homes (or current homes if they want to know what they can improve before selling or just for home repairs). And as a former teacher myself, I agree with her methods. It’s something that comes naturally to me at this point. So I’ll do my best to teach you about a home in question.
It can be helpful to use a home inspection report as a checklist for smaller aspects that could use improvements. If you acquire a property, fixing and changing small parts of it can be a way to take agency in making a new home feel more like your own. You can also learn tips on home maintenance (such as the functions of a heating system and which parts to keep clean so they don’t corrode).
New York State Standards of Practice (SOP) for Home Inspectors:
Home Inspectors should follow the standards of practice set forth to assure they’re properly performing their services for clients. You can click on the link below to have a fuller sense of how NY outlines these.
Payment:
As for payment methods, I usually accept Zelle transfers (linked to my cellphone number), and checks.
Colchian Home Inspections, Inc. 