Taylor, Michigan
Looking for a Taylor home inspector? We do certified home, commercial, mold and radon inspections in Taylor, 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 Taylor 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 Taylor and across Wayne 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 Taylor 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 reportTaylor housing stock
Taylor has roughly 26,469 housing units and about 73% 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 1950s, which accounts for 8,134 homes, around 31% of the housing stock.
The median owner-occupied home here is valued at $132,300. There are around 562 manufactured and mobile homes in Taylor. Those are a different inspection — the questions are about the frame, the anchoring and the skirting rather than a basement. Around 984 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.
Treat this as a starting list, not a diagnosis. A Taylor 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 Taylor was built
90% of homes here run on utility gas, and 28 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 271 use bottled or LP gas.
Local knowledge
Taylor is one of the minority of communities in this region that will not let a new owner move in until the City has inspected the property — and its version of that rule works differently from anyone else’s.
The housing is classic postwar Downriver. Of roughly 26,469 units, about 31% date from the 1950s and 21% from the 1960s, with a further 18% from the 1970s, a median build year of 1963 and around 73% single-family detached. Just over half the city went up in two decades, so the build year distinguishes very little — what separates two Taylor houses is sixty years of separate maintenance decisions.
Which is where the City’s certificate comes in, and where it is worth understanding exactly what it does. It is a municipal code check carried out for the City. It is not a condition report carried out for you, and the two answer different questions.
Taylor also requires permits for a wider range of work than several neighboring cities, which makes permit history genuinely informative here. More on that below.
Before you buy
Two inspections, two purposes
Several communities around here inspect a house before it changes hands. Taylor is one of them, and its rule has a twist worth knowing.
The City states plainly that any change of ownership requires a Certificate of Occupancy prior to occupancy, and its zoning ordinance backs that up: no building or structure erected or altered shall be occupied or used unless and until a certificate of occupancy has been issued, and any change of ownership shall require one. A change of owners, tenants or use in a commercial building requires a new certificate too.
Now the part that differs from everywhere else. Most cities running this process put a clock on the certificate — twelve months in some, six in others. Taylor does not. Its guidance says the Certificate of Occupancy is valid for the length of time you own the property, that any change in ownership requires a new certificate, and that certificates are non-transferable. So a seller may hold a perfectly valid certificate that has been in force for fifteen years, and it does nothing for you — a new one has to be issued for the new owner regardless of how recently the last was granted.
None of that replaces a buyer’s inspection, and it is not meant to. The City is checking the property against its codes so it can be occupied. An inspection is commissioned by you and reports condition — roof, structure, foundation, drainage, electrical, heating and cooling, plumbing and the accessible interior, photographed and written up with how urgent each finding is. Both happen before the same closing, and neither does the other’s job.
Records
This is a case where a stricter municipal rule works in a buyer’s favor.
The City sets out what needs a permit, and the list is broader than several neighboring communities: in general, exterior work, fences, siding, windows, roofing and concrete all require permits, as does any interior work involving a structural change. Interior cosmetic work — painting, replacing tile, carpeting — does not.
Read that against a house that has visibly been improved. If the siding is newer than the house, the windows have been replaced, or the roof is clearly not original, there should be permits behind that work here where in some cities there would not be. That makes the permit record a more useful cross-check in Taylor than it is elsewhere.
The usual caution still applies, and it matters: a permit does not establish that work is in good condition today, and nothing on file does not establish that work was done badly. What it tells you is what was declared and inspected. What condition it is in now is a separate question, and that is the one we answer.
One practical note if you are working to a deadline: the City makes inspection results available after 10 a.m. on the day following an inspection, and will email the report on request.
Rentals
Taylor’s rental rules are worth reading before you buy rather than after, because a change of ownership resets them.
Rental properties must be registered with the Building Department under the City code of ordinances, and a rental Certificate of Compliance is valid for three years with a new certificate required before the current one expires. Where a property changes hands, the registration and the inspection follow the new owner rather than carrying over from the seller.
The enforcement position is unusually direct. The City states that an owner failing to comply with the rental dwelling requirements is responsible for a municipal civil infraction, with fines escalating for second and subsequent offenses — and that a fine can be issued for each day the violation exists. That last clause is the one to notice: it is a daily exposure rather than a single penalty.
What that has to do with an inspection is timing. If you intend to let a Taylor property, knowing the condition of the roof, heating, electrical and plumbing before you close tells you what stands between you and a compliance inspection — rather than finding out when the City does.
The buried line
On a housing stock where half the city went up in the fifties and sixties, the private sewer lateral is one of the least known things about a property.
It runs underground from the house to the public system and no visual inspection can see inside it. Sixty years is ample time for tree roots to find a joint, for ground movement to displace a section, or for repairs to have been made that nobody now remembers. We will not name a material from a build year, because no authoritative source establishes what Taylor laterals are generally made of, and in a city this uniform a date would be a weak guide anyway.
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 is added to the same visit rather than booked separately.
Alongside it we assess how the property handles water outside: accessible grading, gutters and downspouts, foundation conditions, the basement or crawlspace and sump equipment where present. 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 either kind of visit.
Local information from City of Taylor — Building Department FAQs · City of Taylor — Building Department · City of Taylor — permit information. Municipal requirements change — verify current details with the municipality.
Radon in Wayne 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 Taylor sits well away from the worst of it, and we are not going to dress that up into something it is not. What a zone cannot tell you is anything about one house: 17% of tests actually run in Wayne County still came back at or above the EPA’s 4 pCi/L action level, which is about one in six. Zones are drawn around counties, not around addresses, which is why the only number that settles the question is the one from the house itself.
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 · Wayne 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 Taylor 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 my inspection for a 2nd time in my process to find my first house and did a great job going the extra mile once again. Was able to walk me thru things and teach me some things and even giving possible rough estimates on costs.
Charlie B.Taylor, MIOra was thorough with his inspection and explained the report very clearly afterward. Highly recommend their services to feel confident in the home buying process!
Ameer Al-MosawiTaylor, MIOra from Trademark did an incredible job with the inspection and sewer scope of the home I am in the process of buying. He was very thorough, explained everything to me from the start, and made it all super easy to understand which definitely helped to put me at ease a bit more. Highly recommend this company!
Mariah HartmanWestland, MIWhat happens
Questions
Yes. The City states that any change of ownership requires a Certificate of Occupancy prior to occupancy, and its zoning ordinance provides that no building erected or altered shall be occupied or used unless and until a certificate has been issued, with any change of ownership requiring one. A change of owners, tenants or use in a commercial building requires a new certificate as well. Arrange it early rather than in the closing weeks.
For as long as you own the property — which is unusual, and it means a seller’s certificate does nothing for a buyer. The City states the Certificate of Occupancy is valid for the length of time you own the property, that any change in ownership requires a new certificate, and that certificates are non-transferable. Other communities in this region put a fixed clock on theirs, commonly six or twelve months. Taylor ties it to the owner instead, so a new certificate issues at every change of hands however recently the last one was granted.
Yes, because they answer different questions. The City’s certificate is a code check carried out for the City so the property can be occupied. A buyer’s inspection is commissioned by you and reports condition — the roof, structure, foundation, drainage, electrical, heating and cooling, plumbing and accessible interior, what is failing, what is near the end of its service life and what to plan for. In a city where half the housing dates from the 1950s and 1960s, that second question is the one that shapes what you do after you move in.
More than in some neighboring cities, which is useful to a buyer. The City lists exterior work generally, plus fences, siding, windows, roofing and concrete, as requiring permits, along with any interior work involving a structural change. Interior cosmetic work such as painting, replacing tile or carpeting does not. The practical value is that if a house has newer siding, replacement windows or a newer roof, there should be a permit record behind it here. Treat it as context though: a permit does not prove the work is sound today, and its absence does not prove it was done badly.
Rental properties must be registered with the City under its code of ordinances, and a rental Certificate of Compliance is valid for three years, with a new certificate required before the current one expires. Where a property changes ownership the registration and inspection follow the new owner. The City is direct about enforcement: failing to comply is a municipal civil infraction with fines escalating for second and subsequent offenses, and it notes that a fine can be issued for each day a violation exists. If you are buying to let, knowing the condition of the property before closing is what tells you where you stand.
On this housing stock it is worth considering. About 31% of Taylor’s units date from the 1950s and 21% from the 1960s, so a great many laterals here have been in the ground for around sixty years. The line is buried and no visual inspection can see inside it, and we would not guess a material from a build year — no authoritative source establishes what Taylor laterals are generally made of. Putting a camera down the line documents roots, cracks, displaced joints, bellies or blockages where they exist, and is added to the same appointment.
Yes. You can book a Taylor home inspector with us seven days a week, and we cover the rest of Wayne 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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Your local Taylor home inspector, seven days a week. Home inspection reports in 24 hours.
