Ortonville, Michigan
Looking for an Ortonville home inspector? We do certified home, commercial, mold and radon inspections in Ortonville, 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 Ortonville 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 Ortonville 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 an Ortonville 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 reportOrtonville housing stock
Ortonville has roughly 537 housing units and about 74% of them are single-family detached. Housing that went up mostly in one era has mostly one era’s problems — which is genuinely useful to know before you buy, because it tells you what to look at first.
Most of it went up in the 1990s — 132 homes, around 25% of the town.
The median owner-occupied home here is valued at $224,500.
None of this is a prediction about a particular house. It is where an Ortonville home inspector starts looking in a home of this age, and what we photograph and write up either way.
Housing figures: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2022 five-year estimates.
When Ortonville was built
90% of homes here run on utility gas. Another 1 use bottled or LP gas.
Local knowledge
Ortonville publishes a property maintenance code that reads, section by section, almost exactly like a home inspection report. We have looked at a great many municipal codes for this site, and none of them lines up with what we actually do as closely as this one.
It requires foundation walls to be kept plumb and free from open cracks and breaks. It requires exterior walls, windows and trim to be free of holes, breaks and rotting timbers and of anything else that might admit rain or dampness to the interior. It requires every stair, porch and balcony to be safe to use and capable of supporting the loads on it. It requires windows that are not fixed to open with reasonable ease and to be held in position by proper hardware. And it requires basement hatchways to be maintained so as to keep rain and surface drainage water out of the building.
Those five items are on virtually every report we write. Here they are also the standard the building is legally held to, which means an inspection finding is not just our opinion about condition — it is a finding you can hold against a published local rule.
One caveat we should be straight about. The compiled code we read is the 2014 edition, and the village’s own ordinances page directs people to its document portal for updates. A zoning ordinance update dated March 2024 is published separately. So check the current text before relying on any specific wording.
On the housing, Ortonville peaks in the 1990s with about 132 of roughly 537 units, alongside around 105 that predate 1940 and very little from the 1950s. Around a quarter of the stock is not a detached house.
Before you buy
The standard
The village’s ordinances page publishes the full code, and its exterior structure section is worth reading if you are buying anything here that is not brand new.
It opens broadly: the exterior of a structure must be maintained in good repair, structurally sound and sanitary, so as not to threaten the health, safety or welfare of occupants and to protect them from the adverse effects of the environment. Supporting structural members must be kept sound, free of deterioration, and capable of safely bearing the loads on them.
Then it gets specific. Foundation walls must be kept plumb and free from open cracks and breaks. Exterior walls, windows and trim must be free of holes, breaks, loose or rotting boards and anything else that might let rain or dampness into the wall or the occupied space, and siding must be kept weatherproof and properly surface-coated where needed to prevent deterioration.
Stairs, porches, balconies and their attachments must be safe to use and able to carry the anticipated loads. Canopies, awnings, stairways and similar overhanging structures must be properly anchored and protected against decay and rust by periodic coating. Decorative features — cornices, corbels, wall facings and the like — must be kept in good repair with proper anchorage.
Windows and doors must exclude rain and substantially exclude wind, and any window that is not a fixed one must open with reasonable ease and stay put on its hardware. And every basement hatchway must be maintained so as to keep vermin, rain and surface drainage water out of the building.
We are describing the standards, not any enforcement. We have read the code, not the village’s enforcement records, and we make no claim about how or whether any of this is pursued in practice.
Unfinished work
One provision deserves separate attention, because it is unusual and because it bears directly on a property you might be considering.
The code states that once a building permit has been issued, construction of the exterior must be pursued to completion and to a certificate of occupancy, with work regularly and actively performed — and that it must not be completely or substantially discontinued for more than six months. It adds that the exterior must not be left in a condition of disrepair for six months either.
If you are looking at a property with visibly unfinished exterior work, that is a question worth asking the village about before you commit: when was the permit issued, what stage is it at, and is the file open. A half-finished addition is not just a construction problem you inherit; it may be an open matter as well.
The same applies in reverse if you are buying with plans of your own. Starting work you cannot finish promptly is a different proposition in a village that has written a timescale into its code.
A home inspection is not a code inspection or a permit search, and we do not present it as one. What we do is establish what is physically present and in what condition, and flag work that appears unfinished or done without the benefit of a permit — which is exactly the evidence you need to ask a specific question. A buyer’s inspection is the usual starting point, and commercial building inspections to the CCPIA standard are available where a building is commercial.
What the village government pages do not publish is who issues building permits or performs inspections. There is no building department page. We are not going to guess, so make that a call before you plan anything.
Water and the envelope
Read the exterior structure section as a whole and a theme emerges: most of it is about stopping water getting into a building. Walls that admit rain or dampness. Siding that is no longer weatherproof. Windows and doors that do not exclude rain and wind. Basement hatchways that let surface drainage water in.
That matches our experience of what actually damages houses, and it is where a good part of every inspection goes.
So we look at the wall envelope for the specific conditions the code names: holes and breaks, loose or rotting boards and timbers, siding that has lost its coating, and failed seals and flashings around openings. Around windows and doors we look at the relationship between the frame and the adjacent wall, because that junction is where water most often gets behind a finish.
At ground level we record where the downspouts terminate and whether they carry water clear of the walls or drop it at the foundation, where any sump pump discharges and whether there is a backup arrangement, and how the ground falls away from the building. A basement hatchway or external stairwell that collects surface water is a common and very fixable finding.
Inside, we look for what past water has left behind: staining and tide lines on foundation walls, efflorescence and mineral deposits, replaced lower wall finishes, and corrosion at the base of mechanical equipment.
And on foundations we report cracking honestly and specifically, describing what we see and where, rather than issuing a verdict a visual inspection cannot support.
The housing
The village also publishes a community resources page. With around 132 units from the 1990s and about 105 predating 1940, Ortonville runs two inspections with a thin middle — only 18 units date from the 1950s.
The 1990s houses are now thirty to thirty-five years old, which is when the first full round of replacements arrives at once. Original roof coverings reaching the end of their service life. Water heaters on their second or third. Furnaces and condensers at the point where the next failure means replacement. Windows usually original, with failed double-glazing seals showing as clouding between the panes — which, incidentally, is also when windows start becoming stiff to open.
Decks from that period need their ledger connections, flashing, fasteners and post bases genuinely examined rather than glanced at. Deck failures are among the few structural failures that injure people, and the code’s requirement that porches and balconies be capable of supporting anticipated loads is not an abstract one.
On the pre-1940 stock the exercise is different: electrical rebuilt in stages by different hands, plumbing renewed in part rather than in whole with material transitions at the joins, several generations of roof covering, and foundations of stone or early block whose condition depends far more on water management than on original construction.
About a quarter of the stock is not a detached house, so tell us what the building actually is when you book and we will scope the visit and any access properly. Radon testing and mold inspection and testing can be added to any visit.
The buried line
For all its detail about the exterior, the property maintenance code deals with what can be seen. The line running out from the building cannot be, it belongs to the owner, and no visual inspection reaches inside it.
Under a pre-1940 house it is often the oldest untouched component on the whole property. Under a 1990s house it is thirty to thirty-five years old — young enough that everyone assumes it is fine and old enough that it often is not.
We will not name a material from a build year. Nothing published establishes what Ortonville lines are generally made of, and a guess in a report is worse than no statement at all.
A sewer camera inspection records what is actually inside: roots, cracks, displaced joints, bellies or blockages where they exist, and a clear run where they do not. On mature lots roots are the common finding, and on the newer stock a line can carry construction debris or a settled section from the day it went in.
A camera inspection is added to the same appointment rather than booked separately, and we deliver a full written report with photographs, generally the same day. You can read what our clients say, browse answers to common questions, or get in touch about a specific address in Ortonville.
Local information from Village of Ortonville — ordinances, zoning and code of ordinances · Village of Ortonville — Code of Ordinances (2014 compilation, PDF) · Village of Ortonville — government · Village of Ortonville — community resources. 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. A zone is a prediction of an average, and nobody lives in an average.
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 Ortonville 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
Yes, and an unusually specific one. Its exterior structure section addresses foundation cracking, water entry through walls and windows, the safety of stairs and porches, window operation, and basement hatchways admitting surface water.
Because it means the defects an inspection reports are also the standard the building is legally held to. A finding is not only our view of condition; it corresponds to a published local requirement.
The compiled edition we read dates from 2014, and the village directs people to its document portal for updates. A zoning ordinance update dated March 2024 is published separately. Check the current text before relying on specific wording.
That once a permit is issued, exterior construction must be pursued to completion with work regularly performed, and must not be substantially discontinued for more than six months. It also addresses exteriors left in disrepair.
When the permit was issued, what stage the work is at, and whether the file is still open. An unfinished exterior can be an open matter as well as a construction problem you inherit.
We could not establish it from published sources — there is no building department page. Ask the village before planning work, and we would rather tell you that than guess.
It splits. About 132 of roughly 537 units date from the 1990s and around 105 predate 1940, with very little in between — only 18 units from the 1950s.
Yes, on both kinds of house. Under the older stock the line is often the oldest thing on the property; under the 1990s stock it can hold construction debris or a settled section from the original build. A camera inspection goes on the same visit.
More on cost, timing and what is included on the FAQ page.
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