This inspection exists to answer a question someone else is asking. A buyer's inspector flagged the panel, an insurance carrier wants a four point style electrical evaluation, or a lender wants the aluminum wiring assessed before closing. We inspect against that question: panel make and condition, service size, wiring types present, grounding, GFCI and AFCI coverage, and any visible hazards, then deliver written findings with photos that the third party will actually accept.
In Montgomery real estate, three items sink deals repeatedly: Federal Pacific and Zinsco panels, remaining knob and tube or cloth wiring in pre war districts like Cloverdale and the Garden District, and 60 or 100 amp services that insurers flag as inadequate. Buyers of 1960s homes in Dalraida and Chisholm run into aluminum branch wiring questions. Our report addresses each in the language carriers and agents use, which shortens the negotiation instead of extending it.
This is an evaluation, not permitted work, so no city permit is involved in the inspection itself. But the report distinguishes clearly between repairs that would need a City of Montgomery permit, like a panel replacement, and simple corrections that do not. When repairs follow, we quote them separately in writing, and buyers frequently use that quote directly in their repair credit negotiation.
Experience shows in what we check that generic inspectors miss. Double lugged neutrals and double tapped breakers hide behind a panel cover a general inspector may not remove. A shiny new panel sometimes feeds the same brittle cloth wiring it always did, which is the classic pre sale cover up. And we test GFCIs with an actual trip test rather than the button alone, because the button proves the mechanism moves, not that the protection works.
Technician insight
The classic Montgomery pre sale cover up is a new panel feeding old cloth wiring. The panel photographs well and passes a glance, but the branch circuits behind it are the same 1940s insulation, which is why we sample junction boxes and not just the shiny load center.
Panel Flag During an Option Period
A buyer's general inspector flagged the panel in a Garden District home 5 days before the option period ended. We inspected the next morning, identified a Zinsco load center with bus pitting, documented cloth wiring on 2 sampled circuits, and delivered the report with an itemized replacement quote the same day. The buyer negotiated a repair credit and closed on schedule.
Electrical Inspection Services We Offer
✓Pre Purchase Electrical Inspection
Buyer side evaluation before closing, with findings usable in negotiation.
✓Pre Listing Electrical Inspection
Seller side inspection that surfaces issues before the buyer's inspector does.
✓Insurance Required Inspection
Panel, service and wiring documentation in the format carriers request.
✓Four Point Electrical Evaluation
The electrical portion of four point requirements for older home policies.
✓Aluminum Wiring Assessment
Termination sampling and a remediation quote for 1960s and 1970s homes.
✓Panel Identification Report
Documented identification of Federal Pacific, Zinsco and other flagged equipment.
✓Repair Quote Preparation
Itemized written pricing for flagged items, suitable for repair credit negotiation.
How it works
- 1
Intake Call
Intake call establishing who needs the report and what question it must answer.
- 2
On Site Inspection
Panel interior, service equipment, sampled devices and junctions, grounding, GFCI trip testing.
- 3
Written Report
Written report with photos, delivered promptly, separating safety items from code age items.
- 4
Repair Quote
Itemized repair quote on request, priced so it can go straight into the transaction.
Pricing
Inspection pricing follows home size, panel count and the depth the requesting party demands. A single panel ranch is the base case; multiple panels, outbuildings, crawlspace wiring review or a carrier's specific documentation format add time. The fee is fixed and quoted on the phone, and it is credited toward repairs if you hire us for the corrections.