The Scope and Purpose of a Home Inspection

Dear Client,

By relying on this inspection report you have agreed to be bound by the terms, conditions and limitations as set forth in the INSPECTION AGREEMENT, which has already been sent to your for review. If you did not receive an agreement for review contact us immediately. In the event you do not agree to be bound by our INSPECTION AGREEMENT in its entirety, you must contact Fogarty Inspection Services immediately upon receipt of this completed report. In addition, all electronic and paper copies of the inspection report must be deleted and destroyed, and may not be used in whole or in part for consideration in a real estate transaction.

 The inspection report is an unbiased opinion or assessment of the property for the day it was created. It is essential you read this report in its entirety and determine what you feel is important in regards to corrections needed. It is not intended to reflect the value of the property, or to make any representation as to the advisability of purchase. Not all improvements will be identified during this inspection. Unexpected repairs should still be anticipated. This inspection is not a guarantee or warranty of any kind. If you desire to have a warranty included, there are third parties that provide warranty services for homes.

Fogarty Home Inspection Services performs all inspections in substantial compliance with the State of FL Standards. As such, we inspect the readily accessible, visually observable, installed systems and components of a home as designated. This Property Inspection Report contains observations of those systems and components that, in the professional judgment of the inspector, are not functioning properly, significantly defective, unsafe, or are near the end of their service lives. If the cause for the deficiency is not readily apparent, the suspected cause or reason why the system or component is at or near end of expected service life is reported, and recommendations for correction or monitoring are made as appropriate.

State standards define the scope of a home inspection. Clients sometimes assume that a home inspection will include many things that are beyond the scope. We encourage you to read the FL Standards of Practice so that you clearly understand what things are included in the home inspection and report.

A General Assessment: Home Inspectors are generalists. Our position is to discover basic visible defects with the home and either suggest action or recommend further evaluation by a specialist in the appropriate field. In many cases generalists can not diagnose conditions with major components or systems, due to the lack of specific licenses. Only individuals who carry the proper credentials can make proper assessments.  

Any repairs or work suggested in this report should only be performed by qualified licensed individuals. We will not be responsible for any and all repairs made by sellers or unqualified individuals. While the inspector makes every effort to thoroughly inspect all aspects, so areas can be overlooked due to human error, or the event that areas are inaccessible. Some areas that are accessible can prohibit full view because objects or items that block or hinder full view of the space. Certain repairs may need to be performed, then an additional inspection may be needed to fully inspect an area. 

The report has been prepared for your exclusive use, as our client. No use by third parties is intended. We will not be responsible to any parties for the contents of the report, other than the party named herein. The report itself is copyrighted, and may not be used in whole or in part by any 3rd parties without the report owners express written permission.

Again, thanks very much for the opportunity of conducting this inspection for you. We are available to you throughout the entire real estate transaction process. Should you have any questions, please call or email us.

Cordially Yours,

Sean Fogarty

321-506-5125

How to Read This Report

Getting the Information to You

This report is designed to deliver important and technical information in a way that is easy for anyone to access and understand. If you are in a hurry, you can take a quick look at our "Summary Page” and quickly get critical information for important decision making. However, we strongly recommend that you take the time to read the full Report, which includes digital photographs, captions, diagrams, descriptions, videos and hot links to additional information.

The best way to get the layers of information that are presented in this report is to read your report online, which will allow you to expand your learning about your house. You will notice some words or series of words highlighted in blue and underlined – clicking on these will provide you with a link to additional information.

This report can also be printed on paper or to a PDF document.

Chapters and Sections

This report is divided into chapters that parcel the home into logical inspection components. Each chapter is broken into sections that relate to a specific system or component of the home. You can navigate between chapters with the click of a button on the left side margin.

Most sections will contain some descriptive information done in black font. Observation narrative, done in colored boxes, will be included if a system or component is found to be significantly deficient in some way or if we wish to provide helpful additional information about the system or the scope of our inspection. If a system or component of the home was deemed to be in satisfactory or serviceable condition, there may be no narrative observation comments in that section and it may simply say “tested,” or “inspected.”

Observation Labels

All narrative observations are colored, numbered and labeled to help you find, refer to, and understand the severity of the observation. Observation colors and labels used in this report are:

• Defective:
  Repair items that may cost significant money to correct now or in the near future, or items that require immediate attention to prevent additional damage to the building or eliminate safety hazards.
• Recommended Repair:
  Repair items noted during inspection that aren't causing immediate damage or prevent habitability. Please note, repairs could include a wide range of issues and expense to correct.
• Additional Evaluation:
  The item or system in this category will require a secondary inspection to further evaluate concerns. This can include environmental concerns, tradesman service/evaluation of aged equipment, or requiring a structural evaluation based on visible observations.
• Monitor:
  Items that should be watched for future issues or conditions, due to concerns with general wear or age.
• Recommended Maintenance:
  These are repair items that should be considered "routine home ownership items," such as servicing the furnace, cleaning the gutters or changing the air filters in the furnace.
• Safety Improvement:
  Items or issues found that pose a health risk for injury.
• Suggested Improvement:
  Observations for improvements associated with aged features or upgrades of the building. Suggested improvements should not be expected or requested repairs for the current owner, and were generally not required for period construction.
• Due Diligence:
  Observation that are outside the general scope of an inspection, and are the responsibility of the client.
• General Information:
  General Client Information
• Description:
  Detailed description of various aspects of the property noted during the inspection.

Summary Page

The Summary Page is designed as a bulleted overview of all the observations noted during inspection. This helpful overview is not a substitution for reading the entire inspection report. The entire report must be read to get a complete understanding of this inspection report as the Summary Page does not include photographs or photo captions.