For realtors and property managers
The chimney is the item that surfaces three days before closing. It does not have to be.
What the standard actually requires
NFPA 211 calls for a Level 2 inspection when a property changes hands. It is not a general home inspector’s glance from the driveway, and a general inspection report saying “fireplace present” is not it either. A Level 2 covers the concealed portions of the system and produces a written record your client, the buyer and the lender can all read.
- Written findings ranked by priority, in language a buyer can follow
- Repair items quoted separately, so a negotiation has real numbers in it
- Turned around fast enough to be useful inside a contingency window
- The same report either side of the transaction — we do not write one version for sellers
Order it early, not late
A finding three weeks before closing is a repair with time to schedule it. The identical finding three days before closing is a price reduction, a delayed close, or both. This is the entire argument, and it is the reason the agents we work with book the chimney at the same time as the general inspection rather than after it.
Managing a portfolio? Annual inspections across a set of properties can run on one schedule with one point of contact, and each unit keeps its own service history.
Send us the address.
Tell us the closing date and we will tell you honestly whether we can make it.