Rochester, Michigan
Looking for a Rochester home inspector? We do certified home, commercial, mold and radon inspections in Rochester, 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 Rochester 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 Rochester 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 Rochester 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 reportRochester housing stock
Rochester has roughly 5,936 housing units and about 52% 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 1990s than from any other decade — 1,288 homes, roughly 22% of the town. It is also less detached-house territory than most of the area at 52%, 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 $447,800.
This is not a forecast for any one address. It is where a Rochester 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 Rochester was built
80% of homes here run on utility gas. Another 136 use bottled or LP gas.
Local knowledge
If your plan for a Rochester property involves getting work done after closing, the City’s inspection schedule is the tightest we have come across and it needs building into the timeline from the start.
Inspections happen on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays only. Requests go through the City’s online portal — the Building Department stopped taking them by phone or email in 2023. And within those three days each trade has its own narrow window: plumbing in the early morning, electrical in a two-hour slot at the start of the day, building in the middle of the day, mechanical later. The City notes that the trade inspectors do not hold office hours.
That is not a complaint about the City. It is a small department covering four trades, and publishing the windows is more helpful than pretending they do not exist. But a three-day week with four narrow slots means a renovation sequence that would take three weeks elsewhere takes longer here.
The housing is mixed: of about 5,936 units, 1,288 date from the 1990s and 1,050 from the 2000s, but 569 predate 1940 and 810 came from the 1960s. Only around 52% is single-family detached, so about half of what sells here is attached.
Before you buy
The inspection list
Rochester’s published list of required inspections is longer and more specific than most, and four items on it are worth a buyer’s attention because they cover work that becomes invisible the moment it is finished.
The first is back-fill, with an as-built required before the soil goes back — so the foundation and its drainage were documented before they disappeared. The second is brick flashing. Through-wall flashing in masonry is one of the great hidden defects in this trade: done properly it moves water out of the wall for a century, done badly or omitted it soaks the structure behind the brick and nobody sees it until the damage is substantial. The City inspects it while the wall is open.
The third is the deck sequence — post hole and open deck — which is the point at which footings and the ledger attachment are visible. The fourth is the pair at the end: a blower test, which measures how much air the finished building leaks, and a grade certificate documenting the finished ground around it.
None of that guarantees anything about a house you are looking at today. Permits get skipped, and an inspection years ago is not a condition report now. What it does mean is that on permitted work here, the hidden stages were looked at — and that the permit record is worth checking before you write an offer.
The rest is a buyer’s inspection: the roof, structure, foundation, drainage, electrical, heating and cooling, plumbing and accessible interior, with what is failing, what is near the end of its service life and what to plan for — and what could not be seen said plainly, because on a finished house brick flashing and a deck ledger usually cannot be.
If you are buying a rental
Every city puts rental oversight somewhere different, and Rochester puts it with the fire service.
The City states it has implemented a property inspection program for the health, safety and welfare of residents, and directs registration and inspection questions to the Fire Department’s Code Compliance Division. Registration starts with a single unit registration and inspection form, or an apartment complex change of occupancy form for a complex rather than a duplex. The City also points landlords and tenants at the State’s practical guide to rights and responsibilities.
We did not find a published inspection cycle or fee, so we are not going to state either — the Code Compliance Division is the place to confirm both, and to find out where a specific property currently stands.
Separately, the City runs a Certificate of Occupancy program under which new businesses must obtain a certificate confirming a building’s compliance with zoning, building and other laws and its suitability for occupancy. As published, that program is about businesses. We found no residential point-of-sale requirement here and we are not going to import one from a neighboring city that has one — but it is worth a call to the Building Department if you want certainty before closing.
A mixed housing stock
Rochester contains two quite different housing markets sitting alongside each other, and the inspection questions are not the same.
On the older side, 569 units predate 1940 and 525 more came from the 1950s. Those are houses that have been through several rounds of everything, usually with additions, enclosed porches or converted attic space added along the way, and the interesting findings are at the joints between the layers.
On the newer side, 1,288 units date from the 1990s and 1,050 from the 2000s. A house or condominium from 1998 is approaching thirty: the original roof covering, furnace, air conditioning condenser and water heater are all at or past their expected service lives, and grading that settled after backfill is the commonest source of water in a newer basement.
And with about half the housing attached, on a great many properties the first question is which components are yours and which belong to the association — roof, siding, windows and sometimes the water heater or furnace flue can sit on either side of that line.
Whichever it is, we record accessible grading and how the ground falls at the foundation, gutters and downspouts and where they discharge, foundation conditions, the basement or crawlspace, floor drains and any sump equipment, with staining, efflorescence and evidence of past water entry noted as found.
The buried line
For all the thoroughness of the City’s inspection list, the buried lateral running from a finished house to the sewer main is not on it, and no visual inspection reaches inside it.
On a prewar Rochester house that pipe has been in the ground ninety years or more; on a 1990s house, thirty, with the landscaping planted alongside it now mature. Either is long enough for roots to find a joint, for ground movement to displace a section, or for a repair to have been made that nobody now remembers. We will not name a material from a build year, because no authoritative source establishes what Rochester laterals are generally made of.
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 — and it is added to the same visit rather than booked separately. On attached housing, settle first whether the line serving your unit is yours or shared and association-maintained.
Alongside it, 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 Rochester — inspections and required inspection list · City of Rochester — rental registration program · City of Rochester — Certificate of Occupancy program. 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 Rochester 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
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays only, and requests go through the City’s online portal — the Building Department stopped taking them by phone or email in 2023. Within those days each trade has its own window: plumbing early morning, electrical in a short slot at the start of the day, building through the middle of the day and mechanical later. The City notes the trade inspectors do not hold office hours.
Only if you are planning work. A renovation sequence that would take three weeks in a city with daily inspections takes longer here, because each stage waits for the next available window in a three-day week. If your offer depends on finishing something before you move in, build the schedule around that rather than around your closing date.
Four things worth knowing about. Back-fill, with an as-built required before the soil goes back, so the foundation and its drainage were documented. Brick flashing, while the masonry is open — through-wall flashing is one of the great hidden defects, and done badly it soaks the structure behind the brick for years before anyone notices. The deck post holes and open deck, which is when footings and ledger attachment are visible. And at the end, a blower test measuring air leakage plus a grade certificate documenting the finished ground.
The Fire Department’s Code Compliance Division, not the Building Department. Registration starts with a single unit registration and inspection form, or an apartment complex change of occupancy form for a complex. We did not find a published inspection cycle or fee, so we are not going to state either — that division is the place to confirm both and to find out where a specific property stands.
We did not find one. The City runs a Certificate of Occupancy program, but as published it applies to new businesses, requiring a certificate that the building complies with zoning, building and other laws and is suitable for occupancy. Several neighboring cities do have residential point-of-sale requirements and we are not going to import one that we could not verify here. Call the Building Department if you want certainty before closing.
No. They are separate municipalities with separate ordinances, separate departments and different housing. Rochester is the smaller and older of the two. Rules do not carry across, so confirm which one an address actually falls in before relying on anything you have read about either.
Split between old and fairly new. Of about 5,936 housing units, 1,288 date from the 1990s and 1,050 from the 2000s, while 569 predate 1940, 810 came from the 1960s and 775 from the 1970s. Only around 52% is single-family detached. A prewar house and a 1998 condominium are different inspections with different questions, and this market contains plenty of both.
It is worth considering. However thorough the City’s inspection list is at construction stage, the buried lateral on a finished house is not on it and no visual inspection reaches inside it. On a prewar house it has been in the ground ninety years or more; on a 1990s house thirty, with mature landscaping alongside. We will not guess a material from a build year. Putting a camera down the line documents roots, cracks, displaced joints, bellies or blockages where they exist, and is added to the same appointment.
More on cost, timing and what is included on the FAQ page.
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Permits, assessing and property records for Rochester are handled by the City of Rochester, not by us.
From the blog
October 22, 2017
Your local Rochester home inspector, seven days a week. Home inspection reports in 24 hours.
