TL;DR: Plan on two to three hours on site for a Chicago condo or bungalow, three to four or more for a two-flat or a large single-family house, and a little longer if radon or mold sampling is added. The report arrives the next business day, and everything after that runs on the five-business-day clock in the Multi-Board Residential Real Estate Contract 8.0.
How long will the inspector be on site?
These are the ranges we schedule against. They are ranges, not promises: an empty 1990s townhouse in Norwood Park goes quickly, and a furnished 1910 greystone in Lakeview with a rear addition, a crawlspace and a flat roof does not.
| Property | Time on site | What eats the time |
|---|---|---|
| Condo, under 1,200 sq ft | 1.5 to 2.5 hours | Furnace or fan coil, water heater, panel, every fixture, windows, balcony, alarms, finding the water shutoff |
| Bungalow or single-family up to 2,500 sq ft | 2.5 to 3.5 hours | Roof, attic, basement, exterior brick and lintels, one of each system |
| Two-flat | 3 to 4+ hours | Two kitchens, two baths, two furnaces, two water heaters, two panels, then the shared basement, roof and porch |
| Large single-family, 2,500 to 5,500 sq ft | 3.5 to 5 hours | Multiple HVAC zones, three or more baths, finished basement, more roof |
| Three-flat or four units | Most of a day | A full unit inspection for each dwelling plus the common systems |
A condo is not a thirty-minute job even though the roof and the boiler belong to the association. The unit still has its own heating equipment, water heater, electrical panel, plumbing, windows and doors, and in Chicago high-rises we spend real time on two questions that decide whether you flood the neighbor below: where is the unit’s main water shutoff, and is there any leak detection at the water heater and laundry. In a River North unit this month the shutoff was not inside the unit at all, which went in the report as something to confirm in writing with building management. Our condo inspection page covers what is and is not in scope.
A two-flat takes longer because it is two inspections. Every unit gets its own full pass, including a combustible gas detector check at every gas appliance in every kitchen and utility room. Then the shared parts: basement, roof, porch stairs and guardrails (42 inches in Chicago for multi-family, not the 36 inches you see in national guides), tuckpointing, service entrance, and working out which panel actually serves which unit, which is not always what the hand-written label says.
What adds time?
Radon set-up
Radon is done in-house; we hold an IEMA radon measurement licence. A continuous radon monitor goes on the lowest level that could be lived in, away from drafts and exterior walls, and it has to run for a minimum of 48 hours under closed-house conditions: windows shut, exterior doors used only for coming and going, and that closed condition started 12 hours before the monitor is placed. Placement adds a little time on inspection day; the real cost is the second trip to collect the monitor, which we coordinate through the listing agent. Ask the seller to keep the windows closed from the day before the inspection, otherwise the test has to restart.
Mold sampling
Also in-house, on the same visit. Air samples are pulled in the rooms of concern plus one outdoors as the baseline, and surface samples are taken where growth is visible on drywall, joists or the back of a finished basement wall. Each sample is a few minutes of pump time; the lab results follow separately from the inspection report and are not on the next-business-day schedule, so build that into your contingency window.
Crawlspaces
Chicago bungalows and frame cottages often carry a rear addition on a crawlspace instead of the full basement. If there is a hatch and clearance, we go in, and it is slow going: joist condition, moisture, insulation, the state of the drain line running under the addition, and whether anyone has ever been down there. A crawlspace can add half an hour by itself.
Flat roofs
Walked when it is safe
Most two-flats, three-flats and a lot of single-family houses in the city have a flat or low-slope membrane roof reached by a hatch or a rear ladder. When it is dry and safe we walk it: seams, ponding areas, the parapet walls and their coping, scuppers and drains, flashings at the chimney and any rooftop unit. Snow, ice or a soft deck means it gets inspected from the edge and from the ground and the limitation is written into the report. In winter, ask your agent whether the roof will be clear; if not, your attorney may want an extension in writing before the deadline.
Vacant or winterized homes
If the water is off, the pilot is out or the gas is locked, the plumbing and heating sections of the report become a list of what could not be tested. The Multi-Board contract has your back here: Paragraph 15 b) says the seller “agrees to make all areas of the Real Estate accessible for inspection(s) upon reasonable notice and to have all utilities turned on during the time of such inspections.” Have your agent confirm two days ahead that water, gas and electric are on and that the house has been de-winterized. A return trip to test what was off costs a day you may not have.
Older homes and blocked access
A pre-1950 house has more to document: cloth-covered wiring in metal conduit at the panel, galvanized supply piping, a clay sewer lateral, steel lintels rusting behind the brick. None of that is a reason to skip anything, so it is a reason to allow more time. The other slow-down is access: a locked mechanical room, boxes stacked against the panel, a finished ceiling with no attic hatch. Ask the listing agent to clear the panel and the water heater and unlock everything before we arrive.
What should I do during the inspection?
Come. If you cannot be there for the whole visit, come for the last hour, when we walk you through what was found room by room. Buyers who see the furnace data plate and the crack in the parapet with their own eyes read the report differently than buyers who only see the photos.
- Bring the listing sheet and the seller’s disclosure report (the one required by the Illinois Residential Real Property Disclosure Act, 765 ILCS 77). Every “no” on that form that turns into a finding is something your attorney will want to know.
- Ask about the items that cost money: furnace and condenser age, water heater age, roof covering and its age, panel type, supply and drain pipe materials, window condition. Those answers are your first-five-years budget.
- Photograph the data plates and the panel directory for your own records; the report has them too, but you will want them on your phone the first time something breaks.
- Let us work. Questions are welcome at the end of each area, but do not follow us into the attic or start running your own faucet tests; it slows everything down and you will not see anything we are not going to show you anyway.
- Keep the party small. You, your agent, maybe a parent or partner. Not the contractor cousin, not the kids.
When you book, have the address, approximate square footage, property type, approximate age, and any specific worries ready (a smell in the basement, a stain on a bedroom ceiling, a neighbor who mentioned sewer backups). Those go on the work order and get looked at first.
What happens after the inspection?
The report arrives the next business day
Inspect on Tuesday, read on Wednesday. Inspect on Saturday, read on Monday. You get a link, not a PDF attachment, and your agent gets it too. Here is what one looks like: sample inspection report.
How to read the summary
The summary at the top pulls the major concerns and safety items out of the full report. That is your negotiation list, and it is deliberately short. Each entry has the location, a photo of the actual condition, a sentence on why it matters, and a recommendation naming the trade who should look at it. Read the summary first, then read the entire report, because the maintenance items further down are your first-year to-do list and the reason the report is worth keeping after closing.
Do not count items; weigh them. A forty-page report on a sound house is normal. Sort what you find into four piles: safety hazards (a gas leak at a range connector, an open splice under a sink, missing CO alarms), major systems that do not do their job (a furnace that will not fire, an active roof leak), water intrusion (efflorescence and staining at the base of a foundation wall, a soft spot under a window), and deferred maintenance (a 20-year-old water heater that still works). Only the first two piles belong in a repair request under the contract. Everything else is budget.
The contract clock
Under Paragraph 15 of the Multi-Board 8.0 contract, the buyer serves Notice of major-component defects within five business days after the Date of Acceptance, and the parties have ten business days to reach a written agreement before either side may terminate. Business days are Monday to Friday minus federal holidays. That is why the inspection belongs in the first two or three business days after acceptance, and why live online booking with real-time availability and the price on screen matters more than it sounds; you can lock a Saturday slot the night the offer is accepted. One detail from the contract that surprises people: the buyer is not supposed to send the inspection report along with the Notice unless the seller’s side asks for it in writing. Your attorney knows this; your cousin does not.
From there you have three outcomes: walk, take a credit, or require repairs. We cover the contract mechanics and earnest money in can I back out of a home purchase after the inspection, and the negotiation itself in what to do if the inspection finds problems.
What happens if repairs are negotiated?
If the seller agrees to fix things, book a repair verification visit. It is a separate, shorter engagement, and it works like this:
- The scope is a written list agreed before the visit, usually the repair items from the signed contract modification. No list, no visit.
- Only what can be seen directly counts as verified. A new flex connector at the range can be checked with the gas detector; a drain line that is now behind new drywall cannot, and it is reported as unable to verify, not as done.
- Invoices, permits and contractor paperwork are logged as received. We do not give opinions on permits, code sign-off or whether a contractor is licensed; that is your attorney’s territory.
- The verification report comes the next business day, in time for your final walkthrough and closing.
- It is not a second home inspection. Radon, mold and sewer scope are separate services.
The final walkthrough the day before closing is a different event: that is you and your agent confirming the house is in the condition you agreed to and the negotiated items are done. Bring the verification report with you.
What should I do now?
- Count five business days from your Date of Acceptance and put the date in your calendar.
- Block the time in the table above for inspection day, plus the last hour for the walkthrough.
- Have your agent confirm utilities are on, the house is de-winterized, and the panel and attic hatch are clear.
- Book a slot in the first two or three business days, and add radon or mold sampling on the same screen if they apply.
Agents: the timeline, the report format and the request list are laid out for your clients on our page for agents.