home inspector serving Burlington VT and surrounding communities
I spent over 20 years building homes. Now I inspect them.
Comprehensive home inspections for buyers, sellers, and investors in Burlington and the surrounding Chittenden County communities.
Water Testing – Radon Testing – Speedy Reporting
Call / Text: (802) 289-0025
Why My Background Makes Me More Useful as a Home Inspector
I owned and ran a general contracting business for more than two decades, and that business is still active today. That’s not a background detail — it’s the thing that makes the inspection different.
That means I managed bids, hired and oversaw all the other trades, dealt with building officials, and watched what happens when work is done right and when it isn’t. And because the business is still running, my knowledge of current materials, methods, and building science isn’t frozen in the past.
Here’s the part that matters most. The tools an inspector carries — the moisture meter, the thermal camera, the gas detector — are useful, but they are not where the value is. The value is judgment. It’s knowing what you’re looking at, why it’s there, whether it’s a real problem or just the way a house from that era was built, and what it’s going to take to deal with it. That kind of read comes from decades of actually doing the work, not from a checklist. Two inspectors can stand in the same basement looking at the same crack. What separates them is what they understand about it.
I also do not perform contracting work on homes I inspect for at least 12 months after the inspection. No repair pitch, no conflict of interest, no incentive to shade a finding in either direction.
The One Person in the Deal Who Works Only for You
It’s worth being honest about how a real estate transaction is structured. Your agent is paid when the sale closes. Your lender is paid when the loan funds. The contractors who give you repair estimates have an interest in the size of the job. None of that makes those people dishonest — most are perfectly straight with you — but it does mean almost everyone in the transaction has a financial stake in the deal moving forward.
The home inspector is the exception. I’m paid a flat fee whether you buy the house or walk away from it. I have no stake in the outcome and nothing to sell you afterward. My only job is to look hard, tell you the truth about what I find, and put it in writing so you can make your own decision. An independent inspector answers to you and nobody else.
Weighed against what it can save you — a foundation problem you didn’t know about, significant issues with the water quality or plumbing, a roof with a few years left instead of fifteen, structural issues — it can be one of the most useful steps in the entire process.
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A City With More Range Than It Gets Credit For
Burlington doesn’t have one housing market — it has several, sitting close together, shaped by very different periods of the city’s growth.
The Old North End is the oldest residential ground in the city, built up in the 1800s during Burlington’s years as a lumber port, and it’s stayed one of the more diverse, dense, and genuinely lived-in neighborhoods in Vermont. A lot of the housing here has been divided and re-divided over more than a century — small lots, close-set homes, real density by Vermont standards. Understanding what’s happened to a building over that many decades takes some digging.
The Hill Section, west of UVM, is a different register entirely — larger homes from the same general era, more original detail intact, and a quieter, more established vibe. The South End carries the city’s industrial memory: mills and foundries along Pine Street that are now breweries, art studios, and small manufacturers, with residential streets nearby — including the Five Sisters pocket built during the 1920s boom — that mix bungalows, cottages, and Craftsman-style homes.
The New North End is the newest ground, developed after World War II when the car made suburban growth possible. It reads more like a conventional postwar New England neighborhood — more consistent construction, fewer layered surprises, though these houses are now old enough that original systems are frequently due.
None of that is trivia for its own sake. It’s the difference between what I’m actually looking for in a 1900s Old North End two-family and a 1962 New North End cape, and I’d rather explain that than pretend every house in the city needs the same inspection.
What I Look For During a Burlington Home Inspection
A home inspection covers the roof, exterior, foundation, basement or crawlspace, electrical panel and visible wiring, plumbing and water heating, heating and cooling systems, attic insulation and ventilation, and every interior space — walls, floors, windows, doors, stairways, decks, and attached structures. I’m looking for signs of water intrusion, rot, movement, or anything that raises a safety concern, along with the general condition of everything a house depends on to function.
In Burlington’s older neighborhoods, that means paying particular attention to electrical systems that have been updated in stages rather than all at once, foundation types common to the era, and the quality of work where a single-family home was converted into multiple units — some of that conversion work was done properly, and some was done to be fast. In renovated South End properties, the question is always what’s underneath the finish. In New North End homes, it’s whether the original mechanical systems have actually been addressed or just painted around.
Who Is Buying in Burlington
Burlington’s market moves quickly, and I schedule and turn around reports promptly so you have what you need within your contingency window. A thorough inspection isn’t about manufacturing reasons to walk away — it’s about giving you an accurate, well-explained picture of what you’re taking on.
For sellers, a pre-listing inspection lets you address issues on your own terms, before a buyer’s inspector raises them during negotiation.
For investors, Burlington has real rental density around the university and downtown corridor, along with multi-family housing throughout the Old North End and South End. I focus on major systems, safety concerns, and the kind of maintenance that gets neglected in long-term rental properties, and I’ll help you separate ordinary wear from conditions worth a closer look.
For realtors: See the inspection support page for agents for how I work with transaction timelines and what my reports look like.
Radon & Water Testing
Vermont has elevated radon levels statewide, including in Chittenden County. I offer radon testing as an add-on to any inspection.
Most Burlington properties are on municipal water and sewer. In the surrounding towns, private wells become more common, and I offer water testing covering bacteria, nitrates, and other relevant parameters. Bundling radon and water testing with your inspection saves $100 off the combined total.
A Practical Inspection Report
After the inspection, you receive a digital report with photos, clear explanations, and notes that distinguish significant concerns from routine maintenance.
The report is written to be useful after the appointment is over. Something you can share with a contractor, bring to a negotiation, or refer back to months later and still understand.
Safety concerns are called out clearly. When something warrants further evaluation by a specialist — a structural engineer, electrician, plumber, chimney inspector, or septic evaluator — I will say so directly in the report.
What Does a Home Inspection Cost?
Most inspections run between $500 and $900 depending on the size of the home. A standard inspection for a home up to 1,500 square feet is $600, stepping up in $100 increments by size tier to $900 for homes over 3,500 square feet. Homes built before 1950 carry an additional fee because they take longer for a thorough inspection. Condos and homes under 1,000 square feet are generally $500. Multi-family and estate properties are quoted individually.
Serving Burlington and the Greater Chittenden County Area
From Burlington, I serve nearby Chittenden County communities including South Burlington, Winooski, Essex, Essex Junction, Colchester, Shelburne, Williston, Richmond, Jericho, Underhill, Charlotte, and Hinesburg.
I also serve buyers looking south along the Route 7 corridor toward Middlebury and Brandon, and east into central Vermont toward Montpelier and Barre.
For the full list of towns I cover, visit the Service Areas page.
Schedule Your Home Inspection in Burlington
If you’re buying a home in Burlington or the surrounding area, I’m glad to walk you through what I’m actually looking at and why.
Call or text: (802) 289-0025
Email: connect@resonanthomesnh.com
FAQs
What should Burlington-area buyers pay attention to during a home inspection?
Burlington-area homes vary a lot, from older city homes to renovated properties, condos, multifamily buildings, and houses in surrounding Chittenden County towns. The important thing is understanding the house as a whole: roof, structure, drainage, electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation, insulation, and how past repairs or renovations were handled. My goal is to help you understand what matters, what is typical, and what deserves closer attention before you move forward.
Is a Burlington home inspection different from an inspection in a rural Vermont town?
Sometimes, yes. In Burlington, South Burlington, Winooski, Essex Junction, and nearby communities, buyers may be looking at older urban homes, condos, multifamily properties, tighter lots, finished basements, or homes that have seen multiple rounds of renovation. In more rural parts of Vermont, private wells, septic systems, site drainage, outbuildings, and longer-term maintenance patterns may become a bigger part of the conversation. I adjust the inspection to the property, not just the town name.
Do you inspect condos and townhouses in Burlington?
Yes. Condo and townhouse inspections are still important, even when the exterior or some systems are maintained by an association. I focus on the parts of the property that affect your unit directly, including interior systems, visible plumbing and electrical components, heating and cooling equipment, ventilation, windows, finishes, and signs of past leakage or repair. I also recommend reviewing association documents carefully so you understand what you own, what the association maintains, and where future costs may come from.
Do Burlington-area homes need water testing?
If the home is served by a private well, I strongly recommend water testing as part of the inspection process. A general inspection can look at visible well equipment and plumbing components, but it cannot tell you what is in the water. Water testing can be bundled with radon testing and the home inspection to save money compared with ordering those services separately.
Does a home inspection include the septic system?
A general home inspection does not replace a dedicated septic inspection. I look at visible plumbing, drainage, and site conditions that may raise questions, but private wastewater systems should be evaluated by a qualified septic professional when the property has one. Around Burlington itself this may not apply to many homes, but it can become relevant quickly as buyers move into surrounding Chittenden County and nearby rural communities.
What makes your Burlington inspections different?
I inspect homes through the lens of a builder with more than two decades of hands-on construction and renovation experience. That means I am not just building a list of defects. I am looking at how the home was built, how it has changed over time, what may have caused a problem, and what kind of repair path may make sense.
How quickly will I get the inspection report?
In most cases, I deliver the written report the same day as the inspection. The report includes photos, clear explanations, and practical prioritization so you can understand the home, ask better questions, and make decisions with a clearer sense of what matters most.
Also see: Home Inspections · Investor Inspections · Realtor Inspection Support