Home Inspection Blog

I'm excited to officially announce that Midwest Inspect is now serving clients as a licensed home inspector in both Illinois and Wisconsin. Illinois is where I originally became licensed and built Midwest Inspect. It's where I've crawled through attics, squeezed into crawlspaces, walked roofs, opened electrical panels and explained to countless homeowners that, no, the strategically placed bucket under the plumbing is not technically a repair. Now we're crossing the state lin

Some of the most expensive home repairs I’ve seen started with something small. Really small. Not a failing roof. Not a cracked foundation. Not a furnace gasping for its last breath. Sometimes the problem starts with a $12 outlet. More specifically: A missing or failed GFCI receptacle. And that tiny safety device can be the difference between: a minor repair, a serious electrical hazard, water damage, or a very expensive insurance claim.

There is something incredibly satisfying about walking into a freshly renovated house. New floors. Fresh paint. Modern kitchen. Updated bathrooms. Brand-new appliances that still have the stickers on them. Everything smells new. Everything looks clean. And somewhere in the distance, a gray vinyl plank floor is being installed in another house. As a home inspector, I've inspected plenty of renovated and flipped homes throughout Illinois. And I want to make something clear befo

House flipping can be a beautiful thing. A neglected property gets a second chance. An outdated home gets modernized. An ugly duckling becomes the nicest house on the block. I've inspected some fantastic flips over the years. But I've also inspected some homes that appeared to be renovated by a group of caffeinated squirrels armed with YouTube tutorials and unlimited confidence. The challenge for buyers is this: Some flips are professionally done. Some are cosmetically done.