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This inspection is for insurance companies to decide if you are insurable. Florida Insurance companies require a 4-Point inspection report to quote insurance on older homes. Typically, they are required for homes over 20 years old. The Inspection involves your roof, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC.

In addition to the information found on this page, I’ve put together a separate website that explains a bit more in detail about four point inspections, it’s a work in progress at the moment, but it will have sample inspection images and more information added soon. Even though it’s not yet fully complete, you may find some of the information useful. The site is 4-Point.info

Yes. When you made your appointment, you were sent an appointment confirmation email that had a link to an agreement form that needs to be digitally signed before I can inspect your property. This is a standard agreement form that all home inspectors in the state of Florida use. It simply defines the scope of what the inspection covers. Other than that, please skim over this FAQ page to see if anything here applies to you.

Having this agreement form digitally signed ahead of time really saves time.

If everything goes smoothly and you’ve read through this FAQ, typically only about 45 minutes for a single-story 3 bedroom / 2 bath. The actual time depends on the number of rooms with plumbing, the number of A/C units, electrical panels, water heaters, the roof size, and how difficult it is to get to what I need to photograph in your attic.

For example, a manufactured home with no attic access would be much faster to inspect than a 2-story home with 5 bathrooms, 3 A/C units, and a tight, low-pitch attic full of insulation. I’ve had inspections take up to 90 minutes or more, but that’s rare.

If you’re on a tight schedule, let me know. I can focus on getting the interior of the home inspected first and save the exterior for last, so you can leave early before I finish the inspection if needed.

If your permit information is hidden from the public, please email me a copy of your latest roofing permit by replying to your appointment confirmation email. Or if you have a paper copy I will need to take a photo of the first page of your permit that shows the application date and permit number (for paper copies: please have it ready when I arrive). I will also need any permits related to electrical panel replacement or plumbing re-piping work if that work has been done. (Water heater and A/C permits are usually not necessary as that equipment typically has date plates).

The permit information mentioned above is required to complete your inspection report.

Wind Mitigation and 4-Point Inspections cover completely different aspects of the roof. For the wind mitigation inspection, the inspection is from the attic with the focus on what holds the roof in place. For the 4-point inspection, that is more about the condition of the roofing material and focuses on the exterior of the home. There isn’t an overlap in labor for the physical inspection or report forms between the two inspections regarding the roof, so no discount is given.

I may need attic access to check your A/C handler and possibly your hot water heater if either are located there. Please ensure nothing is obstructing your attic access (parked cars, golf carts, shelving, stored personal items, appliances, etc.).

I can typically get around most attics without any issue, but if you have it packed tightly with personal items that make it impossible to move around, I will at least need a clear path within the attic to the A/C Handler or water heater if either are located there. If you have items stored in your attic, I do not want to be responsible if I need to move things and something happens to your personal belongings. Technically, as a licensed home inspector, our inspections are visual only (with the exception of removing the deadfront of an electrical panel during a 4-point inspection).

Do not be offended, but I prefer to use my own ladder not only for liability reasons, but also because unlike a standard ladder I am able to stand on the top step and also utilize both sides of the ladder that I use. I only mention this because quite often a homeowner will go through the trouble of setting up their ladder for me prior to the appointment.

I actually prefer the attic light stays off. I use a headlamp which is preferred over an attic light as an attic light tends to throw shadows on the images I need to take, whereas the headlamp can be zoomed in on & focused on the subject being photographed.

I will need to take photos of the exterior of the home from the front, back, and side yards. If you have a fenced yard, please have the fence gates unlocked. Also, if you have dogs, please make me aware and keep them inside, not only because your dog may think I am an intruder, but as a dog owner myself with dogs who love to run, I do not want to be responsible for a runaway pet getting loose. If you have a screened lanai or pool cage, please have those unlocked as I will need to photograph the exterior rear side of the home.

I love dogs of all breeds, my dream is that when I retire I hope to own a dog rescue shelter. I have a habit of photographing the dogs I encounter at all of my appointments.Speaking of which, take a look at some of My Favorite Clients

I will need to remove the cover of your electrical panel; please ensure it is unobstructed. (Technically 3 feet of unobstructed space in front of the panel is required as part of the inspection). If your home has had it’s original electrical panel replaced, having the invoice on hand for the installation is often helpful when no permit can be found via the public portal.

I need to remove the cover of the electrical panel. Please note: Part of the actual inspection itself is that the panel must have 3 feet of clearance in front of it.

I will need to photograph the condition of your main water shutoff, all supply lines to bathroom, kitchen, laundry and any other sinks. Your toilet supply lines, laundry hookups, etc. You do not need to empty the cabinets so long as the plumbing can be fully seen. I can usually get the images I need without any issue.

If your home has been re-piped, having the invoice on hand for the installation is often helpful when no permit can be found via the public portal. I’ll also need to inspect your water heater(s), please ensure it/they are unobstructed.

Photographing the inside plumbing typically only takes about 15 minutes for a single family home.

I rarely have a need to set foot on a customer’s roof. For single story homes I use a 10 foot selfie stick from the ground to take high resolution images of the entire roof. For 2 and 3 story homes I use a combination of the 10 ft selfie stick and a drone to take the photos needed. This avoids the potential risk of damage to your roof (clay/concrete tile roofs are easily damaged by walking on them) and eliminates the possibility of serious injury from a fall.

PLEASE NOTE: If your home is a 2-3 stories and the day of your inspection there is heavy rain or wind speeds above 15mph, I may need to come back at a later time to complete the roof portion of your inspection. This is because the drone would have difficulty flying in rain and wind speeds are faster at higher altitudes, this is particularly common close to the coast (i.e. Sanibel, Captiva, etc). I’ve lost one drone in the past due to wind and have had a few close calls as well.

I get the highest quality images using my 10 foot selfie stick, but for 2 and 3 story homes, a drone is required.

If you have had your A/C serviced or inspected under a maintenance contract, please reply to your appointment confirmation email with a copy of the statement or if it is a paper copy please have it on hand at the time of the inspection for me to photograph.

If you need to cancel or reschedule, please let me know as soon as possible. I only have so many openings per day, and with the current insurance situation in Florida, many customers are without insurance or in danger of losing it and desperately need their inspection done right away. If you cancel at the last minute, I won’t be able to fill that spot for one of those customers — not to mention it leaves me with an hour of dead time out on the road.

Things happen, I get it. I do not charge a cancellation fee, however please try to let me know as soon as possible.

Inspections Performed on Monday through Thursday:
Pending any unforeseen issues, reports are typically delivered via email the next day by midnight. This could be anytime within an hour of the inspection up until midnight the following day depending on my travel time between appointments and how tightly I am booked. If you do not see your report the following day by midnight, please check your spam/junk folder. Due to the pdf attachment, my emails are sometimes filtered as spam/junk mail.

Inspections Performed on Friday through Sunday: Those reports may not be sent until before business hours on Monday due to lack of urgency as most insurance companies would be closed until that time.

Your report is good for at least 1 year. You can use the same report during that period to shop around for insurance, provided no 4-Point related changes have been made. If you do make a 4-Point related change, the report is no longer valid (see below for discounted report update pricing). Some insurance companies may accept reports older than 1 year, it’s rare, but that’s up to them.

Most insurance companies will prefer a fresh report. Some insurance companies (such as Citizens) may require your report date to be within 10 days if your existing/prior insurance is/was “Lender-Placed” — In other words, if the bank forced insurance on you, the insurance company may require a 4-Point inspection dated less than 10 days old.

Report failures happen from time to time. Most often they’re simple and relatively inexpensive to fix, and some repairs may even seem trivial — but with the current homeowner’s insurance climate in Florida, most insurance companies won’t allow things that may seem trivial to you to pass. There are also instances involving things like your brand of electrical panel, type of wiring, or type of plumbing pipes that can fail your report that can be quite costly to fix.

I feel bad when this happens, but I’m required to report it for your own safety and the safety of your property (fire hazards, the potential for tens of thousands of dollars in flood damage from burst pipes, etc.). My license requires me to report what I find during my visual inspection, and photos are required to back up my findings, so there’s no wiggle room on my part. I hope you understand — I can’t lie and risk my license or being charged with insurance fraud.

Once the issue is corrected, I offer a discounted rate to update your report, so you don’t have to pay for a full inspection all over again (see the next section of the FAQ “I plan on repairing/upgrading XYZ…” for discounted pricing rates).

If you have repairs/upgrades that corrects an issue with the 4-Point Inspection, just reply to the original email I sent that contained your report for a discounted rate on a 4-point inspection report update, that way you do not need to pay the full 4-point inspection rate. Your newly updated report will then be good for 1 year from the date of the updated inspection.

Once your property has been inspected that property is entitled to lifetime discount on any future inspections of the same type. Rates start as low as $45 for a 3bed/2 bath in Cape Coral.

Your discounted rate depend on a number of factors, the distance to your home, your property size. You ca welcome to check the current pricing at any time by using our Inspection Report Discount Estimator.

I’m a one-man show (aside from an employee who handles scheduling a few hours a day, 2-3 days per week). Answering the phone is difficult for me as I’m usually with a client, up in an attic or driving. I do not answer while driving — between trying to find addresses, Florida traffic, and not being able to answer most questions while driving as I cannot look up scheduling or report info on the road, it’s just not safe. My truck has been hit twice since I purchased it, and both times by someone on their phone.

If it’s a question I can answer without needed to look something up (such as my ETA on inspection day) I’ll sometimes reply to texts at a stoplight using speech-to-text, so apologies in advance for any wild misinterpretations “Android Auto” makes when I text back during business hours.

The fastest way to get a response from me is by texting or emailing. This is because I can reply if I have a spare moment in between appointments. If you have any other questions prior to receiving your report, please feel free to reply to your appointment confirmation email or you can text me 24/7 at 239-645-4970. I often don’t get to voicemails until the end of the day, but I’ll try to return calls within 24 hours. If you need to leave a voicemail, please leave your voicemail our main office line at 239-427-1518 as it will be received by both myself and my employee Krista, ensuring a faster response.

Have a question not answered here or at 4-Point.info? Reply to your appointment confirmation email — that’s the best way for me to track and address it before your inspection. No question is too small.

I offer a customer Loyalty Discount. Once your property has been inspected by me, it’s then qualified for Lifetime Discounts. You can access the Inspection Report Update Discount Estimator HERE. Average Discounted Rates Fall between $45 to $65 for a 3bed/2 bath Single Story Home

I’m able to offer this lower rate to existing clients for a number of reasons.

• Most often, the reason for an update is that something on a 4-point inspection failed. A repair was performed within a few days and I simply need to photograph that repair and ensure nothing else on the property had changed.
• The second most common update is a client who performed a simple update within a few days to qualify for a wind mitigation related discount and I need to inspect that update.
• Even if the update is not right away, being familiar with the property ahead of time always makes things easier. Knowing if there are any obstacles, special tools needed (i.e. drone) , etc
• 95% of the research is already done. Your inspection actually begins the day before, when I look up permit information, prefill your inspection report as far as I can, etc. I only need to look for any updates. This saves me time.
• It costs me nothing in advertising. And hopefully if you’re happy with my service, when friends and family ask,, my name will be the one you remember.