Richmond, Michigan
Looking for a Richmond home inspector? We do certified home, commercial, mold and radon inspections in Richmond, 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 Richmond 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 Richmond and across Macomb 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 Richmond 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 reportRichmond housing stock
Richmond has roughly 2,389 housing units and about 63% of them are single-family detached. Age is the most useful single fact about a house before anyone has seen it. It narrows down what is worth checking first, and it is why two places of much the same size can need quite different inspections.
If the town has a defining decade it is the years before 1940, which accounts for 556 homes, around 23% of the housing stock.
The median owner-occupied home here is valued at $221,500.
Treat this as a starting list, not a diagnosis. A Richmond home inspector checks these things early in a home of this age and then records what is genuinely there, which is often not what the era would suggest.
Housing figures: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2022 five-year estimates.
When Richmond was built
89% of homes here run on utility gas. Another 73 use bottled or LP gas.
Local knowledge
Richmond takes an unusually strict line on permits, and for a buyer that is good news rather than bad.
The City states that permits are required for just about any type of alteration, addition and new work — and it means it. Renovations, demolitions, roof repairs or replacements, decks, swimming pools, sheds, fences, signs and awnings are all named explicitly. It even adds that if you are not sure whether you need one, call and they will help.
Plenty of municipalities exempt a long list of small work. Richmond does not. The practical consequence is that the permit record for a house here should be unusually complete, and that makes a records request genuinely worth making. If a property visibly has a newer roof, a deck, a fence or a shed, there should be paper behind it.
The other thing that sets Richmond apart is where its water comes from. The City’s water and sewer division lists water wells and wellhead protection among its responsibilities, alongside a water distribution system, a wastewater collection system and its own wastewater treatment plant.
That means Richmond draws its own water from the ground and treats its own waste, rather than buying treated surface water from a regional supplier as most communities around here do. It is a small city running the whole cycle itself.
One point of order: Richmond Township is a separate municipality with its own government. Confirm which one an address is in before relying on anything, because the rules differ.
Before you buy
Permits
The building department enforces the state construction code across building, electrical, plumbing and mechanical work, and takes all inspection requests through its building clerk, who schedules the appropriate inspector.
What is notable is the breadth. Where many municipalities publish a list of what is exempt, Richmond publishes essentially the opposite: permits are required for just about any alteration, addition or new work, with roof repairs and replacements, decks, pools, sheds and fences all named specifically.
For a buyer that is a genuine advantage. On a house here, a missing permit for visible work carries more weight than it would in a place where that work was exempt anyway. It turns a records request from a vague exercise into a real check, and it means you can ask specifically: is there a permit for that roof, that deck, that fence?
It also means unpermitted work, where it exists, is unambiguous. That is not necessarily a reason to walk away — a great deal of unpermitted work is perfectly sound — but it is unverified, and knowing which parts of a house fall into that category changes what you ask for.
A buyer’s inspection is not a permit search and cannot tell you whether a permit was pulled. What it does is tell you what was actually done and how well it was done, so the records request you make is targeted. On a city with a strict permit regime, those two pieces of information work together particularly well.
We deliver a full written report with photographs, generally the same day, while you still have room to act on what it says.
Water
The water and sanitary sewer division is responsible for the water distribution system, water meter reading, water and sewer fee collection, the wastewater collection system, the wastewater treatment plant, and — the entries that stand out — water wells and wellhead protection.
Municipal groundwater is uncommon in this part of Michigan, where most communities buy treated surface water from a regional supplier. Running your own wells means running your own protection program for the land around them, which is what wellhead protection is: managing what happens on the surface above the aquifer the city drinks from.
None of that changes what a home inspection does, but it does make the City’s own water reporting worth reading, and it makes the water side of a property worth a proper look rather than a glance.
On any property here we report the visible condition of the accessible supply piping, the main shut-off and its accessibility, water heater condition, age indicators and venting, and how fixtures perform for flow and drainage under load. Where there is a softener or treatment equipment we note its arrangement and how it discharges.
Groundwater supplies commonly carry more mineral content than treated surface water, and the evidence shows up on the fixtures and inside the equipment: scale at aerators and showerheads, deposits at fittings, and water heaters that age faster than their years would suggest. We report what we see, and where a water heater shows its age we say so plainly.
The City directs after-hours water and sewer emergencies to police dispatch, which is worth noting somewhere findable on the day you move in.
The housing
Richmond splits cleanly in two. There are 556 units predating 1940 — nearly a quarter of the city — and 1,006 built between 1990 and 2009. In between, comparatively little: 50 units from the 1940s and 89 from the 1960s.
On the pre-1940 stock, expect the accumulated history of a long-lived building. Electrical rebuilt in stages by different hands across eighty years or more, where the gap between a genuine rewire and a newer panel in front of original distribution is what matters. Plumbing renewed in part rather than in whole, leaving material transitions at the joins. Four or five generations of roof covering. Heating equipment several replacements from the original, sometimes vented through arrangements that have not kept pace.
Foundations of that era are typically stone or early block, and their condition depends far more on how water has been managed around the building than on how it was originally built. On an in-town lot with limited space between buildings, that water management is usually the whole story.
The 1990s and 2000s houses are at a different stage: original roof coverings reaching the end, water heaters on their second, and furnaces and air conditioning condensers at the age where the next failure means replacement rather than repair. Decks from that period need ledger connections, flashing, fasteners and post bases genuinely examined — and here, unusually, there should be a permit record for them.
About 37% of housing units are not single-family detached, which is a high share and reflects a city with a real downtown. Where a property is attached or multi-unit, the questions shift: shared walls and roofs, what an association covers against what an owner does, and whether the envelope has been maintained consistently across the whole structure rather than just at one unit.
Radon testing and mold inspection and testing can be added to any visit, and commercial building inspections to the CCPIA standard are available for commercial property.
Drainage
A city that runs its own wells has a direct interest in what happens on the ground above the aquifer, and a homeowner has a direct interest in what happens to water around their building. The two overlap more than people expect.
On any property here we report 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 it has a backup arrangement, and how the ground falls away from the building.
On the pre-1940 houses in particular, that fall is rarely what the builder intended. Eighty or ninety years of landscaping, added paths, raised beds, new drives and settled ground change how water moves, and the evidence of what that has caused turns up in the basement rather than in the garden.
So inside we look for staining and tide lines on foundation walls, efflorescence and mineral deposits, replaced lower wall finishes, and corrosion at the base of mechanical equipment. Equipment raised up on blocks is usually a story about something that happened once.
Most of what we find on the drainage side is straightforward to put right and cheap relative to what it prevents. It is simply the difference between a dry basement and a recurring problem, and it is far better known before you own the house than after.
The buried line
The line running from the building out to the sewer main belongs to the owner, and no visual inspection reaches inside it.
On one of the 556 houses predating 1940, that pipe may have been in the ground for eighty years or more, under a street whose trees have had exactly that long to mature. We will not name a material from a build year, because no authoritative source establishes what Richmond laterals 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 the older half of this city it is among the most useful things you can add, because the lateral is invisible, not covered by a standard inspection, and generally unknown to the seller.
It is worth doing on the 1990s and 2000s houses too, for a different reason. A line laid during that build-out can carry construction debris or a settled section from the day it went in, and nothing about a thirty-year-old house suggests it.
A camera inspection is added to the same appointment rather than booked separately. You can read what our clients say, look through answers to common questions, or get in touch about a specific address in Richmond.
Local information from City of Richmond — building department and permit requirements · City of Richmond — water and sanitary sewer systems, wells and wellhead protection · City of Richmond — planning and economic development · City of Richmond — city services. Municipal requirements change — verify current details with the municipality.
Radon in Macomb County
Zone 3 is the lowest of the three EPA categories — the predicted average indoor level across the county is below 2 pCi/L. So on the state’s map Richmond sits well away from the worst of it, and we are not going to dress that up into something it is not.
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 · Macomb County radon and inspection coverage
Zone from the EPA Map of Radon Zones.
Why choose us
Five reasons people here pick us as their Richmond 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
Mitch did our inspection for the sale of our home and he was professional, efficient and friendly. The report was sent to me and my agent in a timely fashion and I appreciated how quickly the appointment was made and everything was finished! Would recommend to others.
Kendra AllenRoseville, MII 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, MIWhat happens
Questions
Almost everything. The City states permits are required for just about any alteration, addition and new work, naming renovations, demolitions, roof repairs and replacements, decks, pools, sheds, fences, signs and awnings. It adds that if you are unsure, call and they will help.
Because the permit record should be unusually complete. Where a municipality exempts a lot of small work, a missing permit means little. Here it means something, so a records request becomes a real check rather than a vague exercise.
Its own wells. The City’s water and sewer division lists water wells and wellhead protection among its responsibilities, alongside the distribution system and its own wastewater treatment plant. Municipal groundwater is uncommon in this part of Michigan.
It sharpens a few things. Groundwater supplies commonly carry more mineral content than treated surface water, and it shows on fixtures and inside equipment — scale at aerators and showerheads, deposits at fittings, and water heaters that age faster than their years suggest. We report what we see.
Establish that first. Richmond Township is a separate municipality with its own government, and the rules differ. Everything on this page is drawn from the City’s published pages.
Electrical rebuilt in stages across eighty years or more, plumbing renewed in part with material transitions at the joins, four or five roof coverings, and heating equipment several generations from the original. Foundations are typically stone or early block, and their condition tracks how water has been managed around the building.
Yes. Those houses are at the age where the first full round of replacements falls due: original roof coverings, first water heaters, and furnaces and condensers reaching the point where the next failure means replacement. Decks from that period need proper examination too.
On the older half of the city, very much so — some of those laterals have been under tree-lined streets for eighty years or more. On the 1990s and 2000s houses it is worth it for a different reason: construction debris or a settled section from the original build. A camera inspection is added to the same visit.
More on cost, timing and what is included on the FAQ page.
Police, fire, rescue, military and educators — our way of saying thank you for your service. Enter code HERO at checkout.
Claim the Hero DiscountNeed a Richmond home inspector and not sure we reach you? Call 734-331-3269 and we will tell you.
From the blog
October 22, 2017
July 2, 2020
Your local Richmond home inspector, seven days a week. Home inspection reports in 24 hours.
