Home Inspection in Prince George's County, MD

DPIE's online system includes a Permit History search by street address, which covers permits issued since the county moved to its current Momentum platform in 2023, plus older records still held in the prior ePermits system. For ownership, assessment, and sale history going back further, Maryland's SDAT real property search covers the whole state by address or account number. Between the two, most permit and ownership questions can be answered before you ever call the county.

Suitland is not an incorporated town; it is an unincorporated community known by its postal name, like Chillum, Landover, Clinton, and Fort Washington. Bowie, College Park, Greenbelt, and Laurel are the county's actual incorporated cities, each with its own government layered on top of the county's. None of this changes how an inspection is booked. Give the full street address, and the report and any permit search reference the correct jurisdiction either way.

If the building was constructed before 1978 and any unit is rented, Maryland law requires the owner to register it with the state within 30 days of acquiring the property. That registration is separate from a home inspection and does not change what the inspector checks: roof, foundation, electrical, plumbing, and the heating and cooling systems still get the same walkthrough. Ask the seller whether the current registration is active, since a lapsed one becomes the new owner's responsibility at closing.

The readily accessible systems and components within your agreed unit inspection: electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling, windows, doors, appliances, and finishes, plus the accessible shared elements the unit depends on directly, such as a hallway panel or a shared plumbing chase. The roof, the building envelope, and the grounds belong to the association or cooperative, and those sit outside the scope of a unit inspection. The report separates what is yours to act on from what belongs to the building as a whole.

The EPA's radon zone map is meant to guide where local programs focus resources, not to tell you whether one specific house needs testing, and the agency recommends testing every home regardless of its zone. A home inspection does not include a radon test; it is offered as a separate add-on you can book alongside the visit, with results reported directly to you rather than folded into the inspection report.