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Home inspection
Home Inspection in Montgomery County, MD
A licensed inspector tests every major system, then sends a photo report that tells you what to fix, what to watch, and what to ask about before you close.
Read client reviews Licensed and insured inspectors Serving all of Montgomery County
Where we inspect in Montgomery County
Montgomery County runs in rings out from the District line, from Bethesda and Silver Spring through the I-270 corridor to Olney and Damascus, and one team and one price list cover every community here.
Bethesda to Takoma Park, near the District line
- Bethesda
Bethesda mixes postwar brick colonials with condominium towers, so a building's age often changes more block to block than mile to mile.
- Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase's early planned streets now fall under several separate town governments, each with its own permitting history.
- Silver Spring
Silver Spring runs from a dense downtown core out to older streetcar-era suburbs and basement apartments carved into single family houses.
- Takoma Park
Takoma Park's tree-lined streets carry Victorian-era frame houses, brick bungalows and garden apartments within a few blocks of each other.
- Kensington
Kensington's Victorian rail suburb core gives way to postwar streets built closer to Rock Creek Park's stream valley.
Central Montgomery: Rockville to Potomac
- Rockville
The county seat spans a historic downtown, mid-century neighborhoods and newer construction around the Town Center and King Farm.
- Aspen Hill
Aspen Hill's Georgia Avenue corridor pairs older garden apartments with single family streets from several different building decades.
- Potomac
Potomac's large lots along the river and its rustic roads sit farther from public water and sewer lines than most of the county.
The I-270 corridor
- Gaithersburg
Gaithersburg's planned communities and older downtown sit along the I-270 corridor, with houses from many different decades close together.
- Germantown
Germantown's subdivisions arrived in successive waves after the interstate corridor opened, so a house's age can vary sharply within one neighborhood.
- Clarksburg
Clarksburg anchors the I-270 corridor's north end, where an older crossroads village sits beside a still-expanding planned town center.
- Montgomery Village
Montgomery Village's original neighborhoods sit around its planned lakes and parks, while apartment and condominium buildings fill in the newer sections.
Up-county: Olney and Damascus
Rockville, Gaithersburg, and Takoma Park are incorporated cities inside the county, and Chevy Chase divides into several small municipalities; the same team and pricing reach all of them.
Add a package to the inspection
Three packages built around the home inspection. Package prices are for the add-on services only and are added to the inspection price. The savings are against booking the same services one by one.
Home Essentials
The perfect starting point
Home Advantage
Most popular for homebuyers
Home Enhanced
The ultimate peace of mind
Warranties must be requested when you book, not after the inspection. Radon and thermal imaging can also be added on their own. Read more about each package.
What a home inspection actually involves
No jargon, no surprises. Here is the whole visit, start to finish, so you know what you are booking before you book it.
You book, we confirm
Online or by phone, in a few minutes. Your agent can book for you. Add radon, termite or a package at the same time, and we confirm the appointment with you before the visit.
The walk-around
Roof, siding, grading, decks, the garage and the grounds first. The inspector photographs what they find as they go, so the report shows you exactly where each item is.
Systems and accessible spaces
The inspector checks accessible electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling components and operates equipment with normal controls when conditions allow. The report identifies areas that could not be inspected and any recommended follow-up.
The walkthrough and the report
You see the main findings in the house itself. The written report follows online with photos, priorities and what to do about each item.
Montgomery County's rings of growth
Montgomery County's housing built out in rings that widen from the District line. Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Silver Spring, and Takoma Park came first, several platted as separate streetcar suburbs. The I-270 corridor carried the next wave north through Rockville and Gaithersburg, and Olney and Damascus, at the county's edge, still mix old farmhouses with new subdivisions. That range means the inspection starts from the house's age and its foundation type.
Basements, window wells, shared walls
Close to the District line, in Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Silver Spring, and Takoma Park, a finished basement or a below-grade apartment carved into an older house is common, and so are townhouses and garden apartments that share a wall or a plumbing stack with the unit next door. The inspection checks the foundation and any crawlspace for water penetration, runs every fixture to look for a drainage problem, and tests the electrical panel and the heating and cooling systems on their normal controls. Where a wall or a ceiling is shared with a neighbor, the inspector notes it in the report.
Maryland law requires a pre-1978 rental unit to be registered with the state within 30 days of a new owner acquiring the property, a rule that reaches much of the older rental stock near the District line.
Larger lots on well and septic
Farther from the District line, Potomac's river lots and the farmland around Olney and Damascus sit farther from public water and sewer, and many properties there run on a private well and a septic system instead. A home inspection does not test the well or evaluate the septic field, since Montgomery County's own guidance treats that as the owner's responsibility, tied to the soil and rock under the specific lot. What the inspector does check is everything the visit always covers: the crawlspace or walkout lower level, the grading beside the foundation, the attic insulation and ventilation, and every major system run on its normal controls.
Montgomery County's Department of Environmental Protection says a household on a private well and septic system is effectively its own small water and sewer utility, responsible for testing, maintenance, and eventual replacement.
Home inspections around Montgomery County
Montgomery County is one of 11 Maryland counties we cover, and the same inspectors work all of them. Every county below has its own page.
Home inspections by county
Maryland
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Washington DC
Montgomery County home inspection, the direct answers
The questions Montgomery County buyers ask about radon, wells, and city lines.
Does Montgomery County require a radon test before a home sale closes?
For most single-family homes and townhomes, yes. County law has required a radon test before closing since October 2016, with results shared with both the buyer and the seller, except in the towns of Barnesville, Kensington, and Poolesville and for condominiums and co-ops. A home inspection itself does not test for radon; the county's testing requirement is a separate step, and we can add a radon test to the same visit as the inspection.
Where do I find permit history and property records for a Montgomery County house?
The Department of Permitting Services runs an online eServices system where you can search permit and inspection history by address without an account. For ownership, assessment, and sale history, Maryland's SDAT real property search covers every county in the state, Montgomery included, by street address or account number. Between the two, most of what a buyer wants to know about a specific house is a short search away.
Chevy Chase seems to have several town governments. Does that change how booking works?
No. Chevy Chase Village and the smaller municipalities around it each run their own permitting, separate from Rockville, Gaithersburg, and Takoma Park, which are incorporated cities with their own governments too. None of that changes the visit itself or the price. Mention the specific village or town name along with the county when you book, so the paperwork lines up with the correct local government.
My Potomac house is on a private well. Does that affect the inspection?
Not directly. A private well affects drinking water, not the scope of a home inspection, and the inspector does not test the well or the septic field. What often comes with a well and septic lot is a walkout lower level, a detached structure, or a crawlspace with limited airflow, and those get the same close look any lower level would. Montgomery County's own guidance describes a well and septic owner as running a small private utility, so plan for its upkeep separately from the visit.
I'm buying a pre-1978 rental in Silver Spring. Does that affect the inspection?
Not the inspection itself; the inspector still walks the same roof-to-basement scope regardless of the year built. Separately, Maryland law requires a rental unit built before 1978 to be registered with the state within 30 days of a new owner taking title, and that registration is renewed on its own schedule. If you plan to keep the unit as a rental, confirm the registration transfers or gets filed under your name at settlement.
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