I spent over 20 years building homes in NH. Now I inspect them.

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, thermal camera, 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 represents a real problem or simply the way a house from that period was built, and what it will actually take to address it.

That judgment matters on any property. It matters even more when a house has been added onto over the years, when finishes have been updated more than once, or when the work is hidden behind a clean surface. A clean, finished surface often does sit on top of solid work. It doesn’t prove it, and telling the difference is the part that counts.

Two inspectors can stand in the same basement looking at the same condition. 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, and no incentive to shade a finding in either direction.

The Homes I See in Milford

Milford’s a practical town. A lot of the people I inspect for are buying their first house, moving a growing family in, or landing somewhere with a reasonable commute without paying what the towns next door cost. The houses match that. You’ve got a lot of older homes close to the center that have been lived in and worked on by a long line of owners, and newer subdivisions that went up as the town grew. Both come with their own things to watch for, and I’ve worked on both from the building side for long enough to know what those things are.

Older Homes

Milford has a lot of old houses, and I like inspecting them. An old house just asks different questions than a new one. I check the wiring — whether there’s old knob-and-tube or other outdated stuff still hooked up — along with the foundation and sill, the chimney, the plaster and framing, and how the heat and plumbing have been updated over the years. Some of these houses have been rewired and added onto by a handful of owners, some of it done by a pro and some of it done on a Saturday with whatever was in the garage. None of that means it’s a bad house. An old house can look rough in spots and still be solid underneath. My job is to tell you what’s normal for a house that age, what actually needs attention, and a realistic idea of what addressing it tends to involve.

Additions and Changes Over the Years

Milford homes get changed a lot. A porch gets closed in, a room gets added, a basement gets finished. That’s fine, but every spot where old meets new is worth a close look — where the roof ties in, where the foundation changes, how the framing and wiring and plumbing got carried across. Nice new finishes can also cover up a shortcut, and there’s only so much anyone can tell from the finished side. I’ll look closely at those transitions and point out where the work raises questions worth running down before you buy.

Wet Basements

Water in the basement is one of the most common things I run into, and one of the things people worry about most. I look at what’s visible — how the ground slopes around the house, where the roof water goes, the foundation, any sump system, and any staining, rot, or signs water has been coming in. I’ll tell you what points to a moisture problem and what looks like it’s being managed. What I can’t do is see behind finished walls or under finished floors. A finished basement can hide a lot, and a home inspection is a visible, non-destructive look — so where the signs raise questions, I’ll say so and tell you where I’d want a closer look before you count on it staying dry.

Newer Homes and Subdivisions

A newer house can look perfect and still have gone up in a hurry. I look for unfinished work, drainage and grading problems, roof and flashing details, gaps in the insulation, and equipment that got installed but never set up right. On a newer house it’s less about age and wear and more about turning up the kinds of things that get missed in new construction, while the paperwork and the builder are still around to deal with them.

Wells and Septic

Out toward the edges of town and into the surrounding area, plenty of properties run on their own well and septic instead of town water and sewer. A home inspection doesn’t cover the septic system, and I’m not a licensed septic evaluator, so I’ll point you to a good one — I keep a short list of septic people I trust. If the house is on a well, get the water tested too, because the inspection itself doesn’t tell you what’s coming out of the tap.

Radon

New Hampshire has plenty of radon, and Milford’s no different. You can’t see it or smell it, and you can’t guess it from how old or how nice a house is — you have to test, which is something you can opt for when you book.

I can run a radon test as part of the inspection with a continuous monitor that reads across the whole test period (typically 48 hours), not just a single number. If it comes back high, it can almost always be fixed once you know it’s there.

Water Testing

If the house is on a well, it’s a smart idea to get the water tested. I send samples to a lab for bacteria, nitrates, arsenic, and whatever else makes sense for the property. Clear water and good pressure don’t tell you anything about the water itself. Learn more about whether you’d like to add this to your inspection in my blog post here.

Who Is Buying in Milford

For buyers. Whether it’s your first house, more room for a growing family, or a place with an easier commute, you’re making a big call on a short clock. My job is to trade as many of your unknowns as I can for real information. I’ll have you join me near the end of the inspection so I can show you what I found, explain how the systems work, and separate the things that matter from ordinary upkeep. You’ll also get a detailed digital report with photos and clear write-ups.

For sellers. A pre-listing inspection lets you see what a buyer’s inspector is going to find before you’re in the middle of negotiating. You might fix a few things, service some equipment, or just price it knowing what’s there — all of which beats finding out three days before the buyer’s inspection period ends.

For investors. Milford has a real rental market, and plenty of the properties I see are bought to rent, not just to live in. An inspection won’t tell you how the numbers work out, but it’ll tell you what shape the building and its systems are actually in. See more about my investor-specific inspections.

For realtors. See the inspection support page for agents for more on scheduling, timelines, communication, and what my reports look like.

A Practical Inspection Report

After the inspection, you receive a digital report with photographs, clear explanations, and findings organized to distinguish significant concerns from routine maintenance.

Safety issues and major defects receive direct attention. When something warrants evaluation by a specialist — an electrician, structural engineer, plumber, chimney professional, HVAC contractor, septic evaluator, or other qualified professional — I say so plainly.

The report is written to remain useful after the transaction. You should be able to share a finding with a contractor, return to it months later, or use it to plan future work without having to decipher an inspector’s private system of arrows and abbreviations.

On a large property, the report will naturally contain a great deal of information. My goal is not to make the house sound alarming by describing it thoroughly. My goal is to give the information enough structure that you can tell the difference between an immediate concern, an eventual capital expense, and something that belongs on an ordinary maintenance list.

Home Inspection Pricing

Pricing is based on the size of the home. A home up to 1,500 square feet is $600. It goes up from there in $100 steps: $700 up to 2,500 square feet, $800 up to 3,500 square feet, and $900 up to 3,500. Homes built before 1950 take more time to inspect properly and carry an additional fee. Multi-family homes and larger or unusual properties I quote individually — send me the details and I’ll give you a real number.

Add radon testing and water testing together with your inspection and you’ll save $100 on the bundle.

Schedule Your Milford Home Inspection

If you’re buying, selling, or investing in Milford or anywhere around the Souhegan Valley, I’m glad to talk through what the inspection should look like for the property. Give me a call or send me the listing and I’ll get you an accurate quote and a realistic time estimate.

Call or text: (802) 289-0025
Email: connect@resonanthomesnh.com