Southfield, Michigan
Looking for a Southfield home inspector? We do certified home, commercial, mold and radon inspections in Southfield, 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 Southfield 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 Southfield 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 Southfield 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 reportSouthfield housing stock
Southfield has roughly 37,176 housing units and about 47% 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 1970s than from any other decade — 10,514 homes, roughly 28% of the town. It is also less detached-house territory than most of the area at 47%, 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 $212,800. Only 51% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, so a good share of what we inspect here is bought as a rental or sold with tenants in place — which changes what access on the day looks like. Around 2,235 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 Southfield 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 Southfield was built
80% of homes here run on utility gas, and 114 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 417 use bottled or LP gas.
Local knowledge
Southfield is less a town of houses than most people assume, and that shapes almost everything about an inspection here.
Of roughly 37,176 housing units, only about 47% are single-family detached. That is the lowest detached share of any large community in this region we have looked at closely — lower than Clinton Township, lower than Sterling Heights. The rest is condominiums, townhouses, two-family homes and apartment buildings. A buyer here is more likely than almost anywhere nearby to be purchasing something with an association, a shared structure or a tenant attached to it.
The age profile is more conventional: the median build year is 1969, with about 17% of units from the 1950s, 25% from the 1960s and 28% from the 1970s. Roughly seven in ten were built between 1950 and 1979. So most of the stock is now fifty to seventy years old and well past the point where original roofing, heating, cooling and supply plumbing have either been replaced or are overdue.
What Southfield does unusually well is help you find out what is in the ground at your specific address — more on that below, along with the two deadlines worth knowing before you buy.
Before you buy
Water
This is the most address-specific municipal tool we have come across, and it is worth using before you buy rather than after.
Michigan adopted some of the strictest lead and copper provisions in the country in 2018, and every water system had to submit a Complete Distribution System Materials Inventory to the state by October 2024. Southfield built one and then published it: its Water Service Line Viewer lets you search an address and see the recorded material at four separate points — inside the house at the meter connection, at the private side of the curb stop, at the public side of the curb stop, and at the connection to the water main.
Now read it correctly, because the City is straightforward about how it was built. The state required random physical verifications and then allowed those to be used to predict materials for the remaining services. For a great many addresses the entry is therefore a prediction drawn from sampling rather than an individual inspection of that property — which is why the inventory carries an “unknown, potentially lead” category, and why the City asks residents who believe their record is wrong to submit what they find or book an appointment with a City inspector.
Where lead is present, Southfield explains the statewide position: all water supplies in Michigan are actively identifying and replacing lines containing lead, and galvanized lines previously connected to lead, with all portions — the water system’s and the homeowner’s — replaced at the water supply’s expense. That is state law rather than a Southfield benefit, but this City makes the position easier to check than most.
One thing that does not change: a home inspection does not determine water service line material, and the age of a house does not answer it. The City’s viewer and its verification process are the route to that answer.
What the City does and does not check
The City does issue Certificates of Occupancy, which makes this worth being precise about.
Southfield’s certificate of occupancy process opens by stating that occupants of any commercial building must obtain one, and the change-of-occupancy inspection it describes checks a building or suite against current codes for egress and life safety. It is a commercial process. We found no residential point-of-sale requirement in Southfield — worth confirming with the Building Department for a specific address, but do not plan around a municipal inspection of the house.
Which means the inspection you commission is the one working for you. 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.
If you are buying a condominium or attached home — and in Southfield that is more likely than not — tell us when you book. The systems inside the unit are generally yours while the roof, exterior envelope, common structure and shared mechanicals sit with the association, and knowing which side of that line a finding falls on is what decides who has to act on it.
Rentals
With over half of Southfield’s housing in something other than a detached house, this affects more buyers here than in most communities.
Rental Registration Ordinance No. 1656 requires all one- and two-family rented or leased dwellings in the city to be registered and inspected every three years, and the City is clear that failing to comply is a municipal civil infraction rather than an administrative oversight. Owners submit a rental registration application with the relevant fees and arrange inspection dates with the Rental Registration Coordinator.
The mechanics are worth knowing if you will be on the receiving end. Inspections run on weekdays in three-hour windows, morning or afternoon, and an adult has to be present for the whole window so the inspector can get in. If housing code violations are cited, the owner has thirty days to obtain any permits needed, make the corrections and schedule follow-up inspections. The certificate is issued once all inspections pass, and after three years it expires and the process starts again from the beginning.
What that process is not is a condition report. It is a housing code standard aimed at safety and maintenance. If you are buying a one- or two-family property to let, the sensible order is to understand the condition of the roof, the heating, the electrical and the plumbing first, and then deal with the registration cycle knowing what is coming.
The buried line
Southfield’s guidance on backups contains a detail that is easy to miss and could matter a great deal.
The City directs anyone discovering an overflow or backup of sewers and drains to contact the Water Department immediately, with an after-hours route through the police desk to the supervisor on call. It then states that under Public Act 222 a resident who has experienced an overflow or backup of a sewage disposal or storm water system must file a written claim with the City within 45 days after it was discovered — or, in the City’s words, when in the exercise of reasonable diligence it should have been discovered. Notice is mailed to the Office of Management and Budget, not to Public Works, and the City warns that failing to give the required notice will limit your rights under the law.
That second half is the strict bit. The clock does not necessarily start when you noticed something; it can start from when you reasonably should have. We are relaying what the City publishes rather than advising on it — the City and your own advisers are the people to speak to — but it is a good reason to look at a basement properly rather than glance at it.
As for the line itself, the usual rule applies: we will not name a material from a build year, because no authoritative source establishes what Southfield 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. It goes on the same visit.
Alongside that, commercial building inspections follow the CCPIA standard for offices, retail, multifamily and warehouse property — relevant in a city with Southfield’s office and apartment stock — and radon testing or mold inspection and testing can be added to either kind of visit.
Local information from City of Southfield — Water Service Lines Materials Program · City of Southfield — Sewer and Drain Backups · City of Southfield — Rental Housing registration · City of Southfield — Certificate of Occupancy. 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 Southfield 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
Excellent 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, 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
The City publishes an online Water Service Line Viewer. You enter an address and see the recorded material at four points: inside the house at the meter connection, the private side of the curb stop, the public side of the curb stop, and the connection to the water main. Read the result carefully though — the state allowed random physical verifications to be used to predict materials for other services, so for many addresses the entry is a prediction rather than an individual check. That is why there is an unknown, potentially lead category, and why the City asks residents to submit their own findings or book an inspector if they think the record is wrong. A home inspection does not determine service line material.
Under the state rules, the water supply does — and that includes the homeowner’s portion, not just the part the water system owns. Southfield explains the position: all water supplies in Michigan are actively identifying and replacing service lines containing lead, and galvanized lines previously connected to lead, with all portions replaced at the water supply’s expense. That is Michigan law rather than something unique to Southfield, but this City makes it easier than most to check where your own property stands.
We found no residential point-of-sale requirement. Southfield does issue Certificates of Occupancy, which causes some confusion, but its guidance states that occupants of any commercial building must obtain one, and the change-of-occupancy inspection it describes checks a building or suite against current codes for egress and life safety. It is a commercial process. Confirm for a specific address with the Building Department — and in the meantime plan on your own inspection being the only one examining the house on your behalf.
Yes. Rental Registration Ordinance No. 1656 requires all one- and two-family rented or leased dwellings to be registered and inspected every three years, and non-compliance is a municipal civil infraction. Inspections run on weekdays in three-hour windows with an adult present throughout so the inspector can gain access. If violations are cited, the owner has thirty days to obtain permits, make corrections and schedule follow-ups, and the certificate issues once everything passes. After three years it expires and the process restarts. Note that this is a housing code and safety standard, not a condition assessment of the roof, heating or plumbing.
Contact the Water Department immediately — the City publishes a daytime number and an after-hours route through the police desk to the supervisor on call. Then note the deadline. Under Public Act 222 the City requires a written claim within 45 days after the backup was discovered or, in its words, when in the exercise of reasonable diligence it should have been discovered — so the clock can start earlier than you might expect. Notice is mailed to the Office of Management and Budget rather than Public Works, and the City warns that failing to provide it will limit your rights under the law. We are relaying the City’s published information, not giving legal advice.
More common than in most of the region. Only about 47% of Southfield’s roughly 37,176 housing units are single-family detached — the lowest detached share of any large community we have looked at closely here — so condominiums, townhouses, two-family homes and apartments make up the majority. If you are buying one, the systems inside the unit are generally yours while the roof, exterior envelope, common structure and shared mechanicals belong to the association. The inspection covers what serves your unit and what is accessible; tell us the property type when you book so it is scoped properly.
Yes. You can book a Southfield 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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From the blog
October 22, 2017
April 5, 2024
Your local Southfield home inspector, seven days a week. Home inspection reports in 24 hours.
