Farmington Hills, Michigan
Looking for a Farmington Hills home inspector? We do certified home, commercial, mold and radon inspections in Farmington Hills, seven days a week. Home inspection reports come back in 24 hours.
Schedule your inspectionCall 734-331-3269
Services
For buyers, sellers, and homeowners keeping an eye on the place they already own. On new construction we also do pre-drywall inspections and 11-month builder’s warranty inspections. Our certified inspectors walk every major system in your Farmington Hills home and tell you plainly what they found — then put it in a photo-rich digital report within 24 hours.
Following the InterNACHI Standards of Practice:
Included free with every home buyer inspection— and none of them require us to sell your information.
SatisfactionIf you are unhappy with your inspector on the day of the inspection, before you have seen your report, tell us and we will make it right — or you owe us nothing.
30-Day WarrantyA free 30-day Guard home warranty trial, negotiated for you with no obligation. Activate it whenever you are ready.
$100 OffThe buyer’s protection guarantee: if the first home we inspect for you does not make it to the closing table, for any reason, we take $100 off any further home buyer inspection within 30 days of the original.
Optional services at an additional cost — not part of a standard inspection. Tap one to see what it covers.
A camera down the main sewer line, watching its condition from the inside — roots, breaks, bellies and blockages no visual inspection can find. More about sewer scope inspections
The wood-destroying organism report VA buyers are typically asked to provide, on the federal NPMA-33 form. Carried out during the same visit. More about Veterans WDO inspections
Up to five air samples sent to an accredited laboratory, added to the same appointment rather than booked as a second visit. More about mold inspection and testing
View a sample report
Offices, retail, multifamily and warehouses in Farmington Hills and across Oakland County. Know what condition a building is in before you sign — or stay ahead of problems in the one you already own. Reports in 24 to 72 hours depending on size.
Following the CCPIA commercial standards:
Commonly added to a commercial inspection at additional cost.
Commercial laterals are longer, older and carry more. A camera is the only way to see the condition of the one you are buying. More about sewer scope inspections
Air samples to an accredited laboratory, which matters most in buildings that have sat empty or had a roof or plumbing leak. More about mold inspection and testing
View a sample report
Add either to a Farmington Hills home or commercial inspection, or book it on its own. We test and we never remediate, so there is nothing to sell you on the back of a result — the number you get is just the number.
Radon measured in house on a professional continuous monitor; mold samples to an accredited laboratory:
The other things worth testing while somebody is already there.
Carried out after remediation on the treated area and the areas next to it, to confirm what was found. More about mold inspection and testing
A damp basement can have several causes, and the buried sewer line is the one a visual inspection cannot check. A scope rules it in or out. More about sewer scope inspections
View a sample reportFarmington Hills housing stock
Farmington Hills has roughly 37,287 housing units and about 56% of them are single-family detached. The year a house went up decides more about what an inspection turns up than almost anything else about it, which is why it is where we start rather than where we finish.
More of it dates from the 1980s than from any other decade — 9,255 homes, roughly 25% of the town. It is also less detached-house territory than most of the area at 56%, so condominiums, duplexes and small multi-family buildings are a bigger share of what we inspect here — and those bring their own questions about what is yours to maintain and what belongs to the association.
The median owner-occupied home here is valued at $319,000. There are around 631 manufactured and mobile homes in Farmington Hills. Those are a different inspection — the questions are about the frame, the anchoring and the skirting rather than a basement. Around 1,796 homes sit in two-to-four unit buildings, where a shared roof, a shared wall and sometimes a shared furnace mean the report has to be clear about where one unit stops.
This is not a forecast for any one address. It is where a Farmington Hills home inspector starts in a home of this age — and whatever we actually find, it goes in the report with photographs.
Housing figures: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2022 five-year estimates.
When Farmington Hills was built
86% of homes here run on utility gas, and 59 still heat with oil. If yours is one of them, the tank is the thing to ask about — where it is, and whether it was ever buried. Another 394 use bottled or LP gas.
Local knowledge
Start by throwing out the postwar-suburb assumption. It does not fit here.
Most of the large communities in this region were built in a rush between about 1950 and 1970. Farmington Hills was not. Of roughly 37,287 housing units, the single largest group — about 25% — dates from the 1980s, with a further 22% from the 1970s and 18% from the 1990s. Only around 15% predates 1970. The median build year is 1979, and about 56% of units are single-family detached, so there is a substantial amount of attached and multi-unit housing as well.
That changes the inspection materially. A house built in 1985 is not dealing with the same era of wiring, plumbing or insulation practice as one built in 1955 — but it is now forty years old, which is squarely the age at which original roofs, furnaces, water heaters, air conditioning and windows have either been replaced once or are overdue.
The other thing worth knowing before you buy here is who is responsible for the pipe under your lawn, because Farmington Hills answers that question more clearly than almost any city in the region. That gets its own section below.
Before you buy
The buried line
Across this region most municipalities leave the private-versus-public sewer boundary vague, and we refuse to guess at it. Farmington Hills does not leave it vague at all.
On its sewer backup information page, the City states that municipalities do not have the legal authority or obligation to repair a private sewer lead. The line running from your house is yours to maintain, repair and replace. If you discover an overflow or backup that does not appear to be an internal plumbing problem, the City directs you to contact the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner rather than the City itself.
The City also sets out what Public Act 222 requires of anyone seeking compensation, and the bar is high. A claimant must prove the public sewer had a defect; that the governmental agency knew, or with reasonable diligence should have known, about it; that the agency did not take appropriate steps within a reasonable time to remedy it; and that the defect was 50 percent or more of the cause of the event and the damage. On top of that, a written claim must reach the WRC within 45 days of the backup being discovered, and the City warns that failing to file in time will prevent recovery of damages.
We are relaying what the City publishes, not advising on it — if any of that ever applies to you, the Water Resources Commissioner and your own advisers are the people to speak to. But the practical message for a buyer is unmissable. The pipe is yours, the city will not fix it, and proving otherwise is difficult. A sewer camera inspection records what is actually inside that line — roots, cracks, displaced joints, bellies or blockages where they exist, and a clear run where they do not. We will not guess at the material from a build year, because no source establishes what Farmington Hills leads are generally made of. The camera does not have to guess. It goes on the same visit.
What the City does and does not check
Buyers moving here from Westland, Ecorse or Garden City are often surprised, because those cities all require a municipal certificate before a house changes hands.
Farmington Hills does not, as far as we can establish. The City publishes a Re-Occupancy Application, which sounds like it might apply — but read it and the fields are the new occupant and name of business, the proposed use, the square footage and the zoning use. It is a commercial change-of-occupancy document. Confirm the position for a specific address with the Building Division, but do not plan around a municipal inspection that may not exist.
Where no city inspection happens at sale, the consequence is simple: the inspection you commission is the only one looking at the property on your behalf. A home buyer inspection covers the roof, structure, foundation, drainage, electrical, heating and cooling, plumbing and the accessible interior, photographed and written up with how urgent each finding is.
Permit history is still worth checking on a house of this age, with the usual caution: a permit is not evidence that work is in good condition today, and nothing on file is not evidence that work was done badly.
Rentals
This one matters if you are buying a rental, buying from a landlord, or planning to let a property out yourself.
The City has adopted a mandatory Single-Family Rental Dwelling Registration, Safety and Maintenance Inspection Program, requiring registration of any single-family rental dwelling in Farmington Hills. The stated purpose is making sure those homes are maintained to minimum standards of fire, health and life safety, and the program requires inspection once every three years.
What the City looks at is worth knowing, because it tells you what it does not look at. Its inspections focus primarily on exterior conditions, fire safety and egress, structural, electrical, health, insect and rodent infestation, sanitation issues and accumulation of trash. That is a maintenance and safety standard, not a condition assessment of the roof covering, the furnace, the air conditioning or the plumbing supply — which is the gap an inspection fills.
The City publishes a registration application, an exterior maintenance and inspection checklist, a guide to the certification process and the ordinance itself, so a landlord can see exactly what is expected before an inspector arrives.
Water
Farmington Hills sits inside the Oakland County system in a way that is worth understanding, because it changes who you call.
The City’s Department of Public Services looks after water mains and sanitary sewers, while sanitary sewer backups are directed to the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner and claims are mailed to the WRC office in Waterford rather than to City Hall. The City also seats a Water System Advisory Council covering lead in drinking water, and maintains a distribution system materials inventory of service line materials under the state requirement that followed the 2018 amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act.
On lead specifically, our position is the same as everywhere: a home inspection does not determine water service line material, and the year a house was built does not answer it either. The City and its inventory are the route to that answer for a particular address, and we will not imply otherwise.
What we do assess is how the property handles water on the outside — accessible grading, gutters and downspouts, foundation conditions, the basement or crawlspace and sump equipment where present — documented as found. Alongside that, commercial building inspections follow the CCPIA standard for offices, retail, multifamily and warehouse property, and radon testing or mold inspection and testing can be added to a residential or commercial visit.
Local information from City of Farmington Hills — Sewer Backup Information · City of Farmington Hills — Rental Inspection program · City of Farmington Hills — Building Division · City of Farmington Hills — Public Services. Municipal requirements change — verify current details with the municipality.
Radon in Oakland County
Zone 2 is the middle EPA category — the predicted average indoor level across the county sits between 2 and 4 pCi/L. What a zone cannot tell you is anything about one house: 29% of tests actually run in Oakland County still came back at or above the EPA’s 4 pCi/L action level. The zone describes a county. The only result that describes your basement is the one measured in it.
We place a continuous monitor for 48 hours and read the result on site — no mail-in kit, no lab wait. How radon testing works · Oakland County radon and inspection coverage
Zone from the EPA Map of Radon Zones. Elevated-result share from the Michigan Indoor Radon Program.
Why choose us
Five reasons people here pick us as their Farmington Hills home inspector.
Family owned since 2009, more than 16,000 inspections completed and over 2,000 five-star reviews across Michigan. We also handle home buyer inspections, commercial building inspections, mold testing and radon testing.
We do not sell mold remediation or radon mitigation, so there is nothing to gain from a result that comes back bad. The number you get is just the number.
Radon, mold, sewer scope and wood-destroying organism inspections go on the same appointment as the home inspection rather than costing you a second morning.
Most people do, and it is the most useful hour of the whole purchase. Ask anything while we are standing in front of it.
InterNACHI and CCPIA certified, with four Certified Master Inspectors and National Home Inspector Examination passes on the team — none of which Michigan requires. The standards we inspect to are published and you can hold the work against them.
Including weekends, because inspection windows sit on closing dates and closing dates do not care what day it is.
Reviews
I recently hired Trademark for a full home inspection on a new purchase, including sewer scope and radon testing. It was a phenomenal experience from beginning to end. Our inspector, Mitch, did a fantastic job explaining all the findings, and the digital report with photos and videos was superb. Would definitely recommend without hesitation.
Salina HamiltonOak Park, MIWe had Mitch inspect our prospective house and he was amazing. He was thorough, patient to answer my questions and provide feedback on what areas he would recommend having a follow up expert and why. The office was responsive and I was able to book multiple services to be done in the same visit (inspection, radon test, sewer scope).
Chris PlaweckiOak Park, MIExcellent sums up the entire experience, from the initial call to set up the appointment with staff that was informative and helpful, up until the actual inspection that was very professional and thorough with any and all questions I had answered. I would highly recommend Trademark to anyone who needs inspection services. Thanks again Curt, my inspector, for an excellent job.
Johnny Thomas JrSouthfield, MIWhat happens
Questions
The property owner, and the City says so directly. Its sewer backup information states that municipalities do not have the legal authority or obligation to repair a private sewer lead. That is unusually clear language — many communities in this region leave the boundary vague — and it means the line running from the house is yours to maintain, repair and replace. If you discover an overflow or backup that does not look like an internal plumbing problem, the City directs you to contact the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner.
Contact the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner straight away — the City directs backups to the WRC rather than to City Hall, with a daytime number and an after-hours number. If you intend to make a claim, the City explains that Public Act 222 sets a high bar: you must prove the public sewer had a defect, that the agency knew or should have known about it, that it failed to remedy it in a reasonable time, and that the defect was 50 percent or more of the cause. A written claim must reach the WRC within 45 days of discovery or recovery of damages is prevented. We are relaying the City’s published information, not giving legal advice.
It is worth considering here more than in most places, for a specific reason: the City has stated that it will not repair a private sewer lead, so the condition of that line is entirely your problem once you own the house. A standard visual inspection cannot see inside it, and the build year settles nothing — we would not guess a material from a date and no source establishes what Farmington Hills leads are generally made of. Putting a camera down the line documents its accessible interior directly and is added to the same appointment.
We found no residential point-of-sale requirement. The City does publish a Re-Occupancy Application, which is easy to mistake for one, but its fields are the new occupant and business name, the proposed use, square footage and zoning use — it is a commercial change-of-occupancy document. Confirm the position for a specific address with the Building Division. In the meantime, plan on your own inspection being the only one examining the property on your behalf.
Younger than most of the region, which surprises people. The median build year is 1979 and the largest single group of the roughly 37,287 housing units — about 25% — dates from the 1980s, with 22% from the 1970s and 18% from the 1990s. Only around 15% predates 1970, so the postwar-suburb story that fits Warren or Garden City does not really apply here. What does apply is that a 1980s house is now around forty years old, which is exactly when original roofing, heating, cooling and water heaters come due.
Yes. The City has a mandatory Single-Family Rental Dwelling Registration, Safety and Maintenance Inspection Program requiring registration of any single-family rental in the city, with inspection once every three years, intended to keep those homes at minimum standards of fire, health and life safety. The inspections focus on exterior conditions, fire safety and egress, structural, electrical, health, insect and rodent infestation, sanitation and accumulated trash. Useful to know what that does not include: it is a safety and maintenance standard rather than a condition assessment of the roof, furnace, air conditioning or supply plumbing.
Yes. You can book a Farmington Hills home inspector with us seven days a week, and we cover the rest of Oakland County too.
A home inspection report reaches you within 24 hours. Commercial buildings are 24 to 72 hours depending on size, a radon result comes at the end of the 48-hour test, and mold samples come back from the lab in one to three business days.
More on cost, timing and what is included on the FAQ page.
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Permits, assessing and property records for Farmington Hills are handled by the City of Farmington Hills, not by us.
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October 22, 2017
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Your local Farmington Hills home inspector, seven days a week. Home inspection reports in 24 hours.
