Here we answer questions about getting a home inspection, give tips on home maintenance, and share our knowledge about common home issues. We are here to help you. If you can’t find an answer to your questions here, you can always contact us via our contact page.
Some buyers expect a home inspection to feel intense. Serious tone. Urgent language. A long list of warnings. When that doesn’t happen, they sometimes wonder whether the inspection was thorough enough. In reality, the calmest inspections are often the most experienced ones. At Upchurch Inspection, our goal isn’t to impress
One of the most misunderstood parts of home inspections is timing. Buyers often assume that if a problem exists, it should be obvious on inspection day. If it’s not visible, it must not be real. In the regions we serve—Memphis and Jackson in West Tennessee, Nashville and Middle Tennessee, Little
One loose outlet cover doesn’t mean much.One small crack doesn’t tell a story.One stained board could be nothing. But when those things start repeating—when they show up in related places, under similar conditions, or alongside other subtle clues—that’s when experienced inspectors start paying close attention. At Upchurch Inspection, we don’t
When people think about basement problems, they usually think about cracks, water stains, sump pumps, grading, or foundation movement. Those things matter, but in the Kansas City metro, basement conditions often trace back to something deeper: the ground itself. When I review reports from our Centerview, Missouri inspector working throughout
Office buildings are often evaluated first by size. Buyers look at square footage, number of suites, occupancy, parking, location, and lease potential. Those factors matter, but they do not tell the whole story. In an office property, square footage may define the opportunity, but building systems define the cost, reliability,
One of the biggest mistakes buyers make is assuming that a home’s age tells the whole story. “How old is the house?”“What year was it built?” Those questions come up constantly—but they’re rarely the most important ones. A forty-year-old home in one region can behave better than a ten-year-old home
One of the most common follow-up questions buyers ask during an inspection is some version of: “About how much do you think this will cost to fix?” It’s a reasonable question. Buying a home is a financial decision, and people want to understand what they’re stepping into. But experienced inspectors
Retail and strip centers tend to present well. Clean facades, consistent signage, freshly paved lots, and occupied storefronts create a sense of stability that can make a property feel lower-risk than it really is. For buyers—especially those newer to commercial real estate—that visual order can be misleading. A retail center
Buyers often focus on a home’s age when trying to gauge risk. “How old is the roof?”“How old is the HVAC?”“How old is the house?” Age matters—but it’s rarely the most important factor. What experienced inspectors really pay attention to is how the house has been maintained, because maintenance history
Subdivision Growth Comes With Patterns When I review reports from our Centerview, Missouri inspector in the eastern Kansas City suburbs, the homes in Lee’s Summit and Blue Springs tend to share a predictable inspection profile. These communities saw heavy subdivision growth from the 1990s through the 2010s, and many homes
Some buyers are surprised when an inspector asks a personal-sounding question during or after an inspection: “How long do you think you’ll be in the house?” It can feel irrelevant. The house is the house, regardless of how long you live there—right? In reality, that single question shapes how inspection
When buyers think about expensive home repairs, they usually think about roofs, HVAC systems, foundations, or electrical panels. Those systems are visible, familiar, and easy to imagine. Sewer lines are different. They are underground, easy to ignore, and usually invisible during a normal showing or walkthrough. That is exactly why
