Personalized and Accurate Home Inspection in Maryland, Delaware & Pennsylvania

  Stearns Home Inspections performs a personalized and valuable inspection for a prospective real estate buyer, seller or investment property owners. A professional home inspector will provide a home inspection utilizing the accepted standards and practices to accurately report the visual condition of the physical components and structures of the home. Stearns Home Inspections does not judge or evaluate a home for cost or value but does report objectively, in writing the specific condition of the home's condition and the subsequent physical systems involved. Our home inspections provide an independent, unbiased review and report on a home's systems, components and their condition. Consumers and real estate professionals should expect no less than full professionalism, education, and competence with credentials, knowledge, and courtesy. A detailed home inspection usually takes two to three hours or longer, depending on the home's age and square footage. We recommend that you be present at your home inspection so that you can ask Richard (Rick) any questions about areas needing maintenance or repair 

 Over 30 years, Richard has overseen and built over 1,500 homes. He has been involved in custom homes, townhomes, condominiums, and active adult communities. He has personally built decks, finished basements, remodeled kitchens, bathrooms, installed new windows, siding, roofing, and drywall. His vast experience has given him the ability to understand how items are supposed to  be constructed and Not constructed. He prides himself in continuing to learn everyday with new technology and products. Let his experience help you when your home is in of a Home Inspection and catch any issues that cannot be seen after drywall is installed.  

Stearns Home Inspections is proud to be building a new side for our sellers.

 Why have surprises? We can provide you with an inspection report to inform you of what a Buyers inspection may reveal. We want to make your selling process less stressful, so lets us help you do that. 

 A Home Inspection before will inform buyers of things that won't likely need to be replaced anytime soon. They will point out the “good things”, that in turn make buyers feel comfortable and reassured about the house they want to buy. Additionally, home inspectors educate buyers! 

 Radon is the number one cause of lung cancer in non-smokers.  For children, radon and second-hand smoke are the biggest risks for developing lung cancer later in life.  Unless you test with a radon test kit, you can't tell whether your home has radon, because radon is a gas that has no smell, no color, and can't be seen.  

The radon gas that occurs outdoors is diluted, so it doesn’t present a health risk. Radon that gets trapped in homes can build to dangerous levels, however.

The average indoor radon level in the United States is 1.3 picocuries per liter of air (pCi/L). The EPA and Surgeon General both recommend fixing home with levels over 4 pCi/L. 

 There are no immediate symptoms of radon exposure. You won’t have blurred vision, nausea, or a headache that would indicate unsafe levels of radon in your home. It could take years for you to develop symptoms. 

I use continuous Radon Testing equipment which takes readings every hours for a minimum of 24 hours. 

A WDIR is important because you want to know the exact condition of the home that you are investing in. Getting a WDI inspection done before buying or selling a home can save thousands of dollars in potential structural damage caused by termites and other insects.

Why Have a WDIR Done?

There are plenty of insects that can destroy wood out there, but by far the most important one to find out about is termites. They are pretty small, but they can do a pretty large amount of damage. They actually do billions of dollars worth of destruction to properties throughout just the United States. Unfortunately, they eat wood from the inside out, so the damage can go unnoticed by the naked, untrained eye until it has gotten very costly and/or caused structural damage. Often, you will only see them when they swarm – which means there are so many of them, they need to break off to create another colony. It’s no wonder approximately 600,000 homes are damaged by termites in the US each year and about $6 billion are spent annually by US residents to control termites and repair the damage they cause.

I use a third party professional WDIR Inspection company. I can only offer this service with a Home Inspection. I use them often so I can help you save money on the cost of doing your own independent WDIR Inspection. 

In Maryland, property transfer is one of the few times when a septic system is looked at and evaluated. Typically, a mortgage company requires that an inspection occurs as a condition of sale and this is a high-risk moment for both homebuyers and home sellers - many things can go wrong, and a septic system is one piece in this intricate dance. 

Inspections are crucial for finding problems with septic systems. There are different types of failures that a proper inspection can find: pre-failure, temporary failure, and failure.   

Information provided by the Clean Water Action Committee

Fun Facts about Septic Systems

Only bath tissue can be flushed down the toilet. Tampons, paper towels, cigarette butts and diapers should be put in the trash. Household chemicals such as gasoline, paint, medication, antifreeze and pesticides can damage bacteria in the septic system and should never be flushed or dumped down the sink. Detergents and bleach can enter the plumbing system in moderate amounts.

Cars should not be driven on or near the drainfield. Their weight can unknowingly damage subterranean piping.

Only grass should be planted above the septic tank and drainfield. Roots from trees and large shrubs can cause unseen damage.

No one should ever dig or build on top of the drainfield.

All water drainage from rainwater, sump pumps, or any surface water should be diverted away from the drainfield. An over-saturated drainfield can retard the water treatment process and cause plumbing fixtures to back up.

An easy way to prolong a septic system’s life and prevent a very costly replacement is to fix leaky faucets and toilets immediately. Any household water waste should be avoided. Taking shorter showers and not using a garbage disposal are ways to limit water use.

I use a third party professional Septic Inspection and Pump out company. I can only offer this service in Maryland and with a Home Inspection. I use them often so I can help you save money on the cost of doing your own independent Septic Inspection.