Home inspections in Jackson County, from Grass Lake to Springport
We inspect across all of Jackson County from our Grand Blanc and Southfield offices: Jackson, Grass Lake, Brooklyn, Spring Arbor, Parma, Michigan Center, Vandercook Lake, Napoleon, Concord, Hanover, Springport and the lake townships. Jackson County has some of the highest radon results of any county we serve, old housing in the city and hundreds of lake homes in the Irish Hills, so the add-ons that matter here are the radon test first, then the sewer scope, lead and asbestos testing for older homes, a mold inspection for lake cottages and finished basements, and the well and septic package with the FHA or VA water test outside the city.
Every inspection is done by a certified inspector, comes with thermal imaging and a drone view of the roof when the weather allows, and the digital report is in your inbox the same day. A home inspection starts at $425; the final price depends on the size and age of the home, which is why the instant quote asks for the address.
0%
of Jackson County radon tests were above the EPA fix-it level of 4 pCi/L, Brooklyn 26%, Spring Arbor 25% (EGLE map, 2,300 tests). Test every house here.
0%
of Jackson County homes were built before 1980, when lead paint and asbestos flooring, siding and insulation were still in use. We test for both.
0%
of Jackson County homes date from before 1950: knob-and-tube wiring, clay sewer lines and plaster. Sewer scope and lead test recommended.
What buyers run into in Jackson County
Radon: test every house here
Michigan EGLE (the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy) says about 1 in 4 homes in Michigan tests above the EPA action level of 4 pCi/L. Jackson County runs well above the statewide average of 12%: 19% of the 2,300 tests reported to EGLE's radon map came back above the action level (430 of 2,300), with the city of Jackson at 20% of 719 tests, Brooklyn at 26%, Spring Arbor at 25% and Grass Lake at 14%. A 48-hour radon test starts at $200 and runs during the inspection.
Old housing in the city: lead, asbestos and original systems
The median Jackson County home was built in 1967, 68% of the county's 69,292 housing units went up before 1980 and 29% date from before 1950 (Census American Community Survey, 2020 to 2024). Lead paint was legal until 1978 and asbestos was still common in flooring, siding, insulation and ceiling texture into the 1980s, so anything of that age gets a lead test (from $100) and, if you plan to pull up floors or siding, asbestos sampling: flooring installers, including Home Depot's, will not pull up pre-1980 vinyl or linoleum without an asbestos test (Home Depot's own installation guidance says so), so we sample flooring, siding and insulation and send it to an accredited lab. In the city of Jackson plan on knob-and-tube remnants, galvanized pipe and clay sewer lines too, and a rental history on many of the houses that come up for sale.
Lake homes, walkouts and mold
Clarklake, Vineyard Lake, Lake Columbia, Gilletts Lake, Grass Lake and the rest of the Irish Hills are full of cottages that became year-round homes one addition at a time, with walkout basements, seawalls and crawlspaces that see a lot of water. That is where we find mold. Thermal imaging and moisture readings are part of every home inspection, and where a crawlspace is too tight or too wet to enter we send in our crawlspace robot (an Uplink Robotics inspection crawler; the maker says only 22 have been sold in Michigan, and three of them are ours) so it gets photographed instead of skipped. Our mold inspection (from $275) is done by an IAC2-certified inspector: thermal imaging and moisture meters to find the source, spore-trap air samples and surface samples, and accredited lab results that name the species. The EPA's rule of thumb is that anything that stays wet longer than 24 to 48 hours will usually grow mold, and a finished basement hides exactly that.
Wells, septic and the water test your lender wants
Outside the city of Jackson and the villages, most of the county is on private wells and septic systems. There is no county-wide time-of-sale rule for wells and septic in Jackson County; a few townships and most lenders have their own requirements, so give us the address and we will tell you what applies. The well and septic package starts at $500, or the well alone from $275 and the septic alone from $300. VA loans require a water test on any private well and FHA lenders ask for one in most cases. We pull the sample, send it to a certified lab and deliver the results in the format the lender wants, usually in 2 to 7 business days. The water test starts at $175 and covers coliform bacteria, nitrates, nitrites, lead, arsenic and more.
Services and starting prices in Jackson County
Prices are starting points. Add-on services (radon, well and septic, water, mold, sewer scope, termite, lead, pool and spa) are priced as shown when added to a home inspection; booked on their own they are quoted separately. Asbestos sampling starts at $300 with or without a home inspection. The final price depends on the size and age of the home, and the instant quote gives you a firm number before you book. Commercial building inspections are quoted by the building.
- Home inspection, starting at $425
- Radon testing, starting at $200 when added to a home inspection
- Well and septic inspection package, starting at $500 (well alone from $275, septic alone from $300) when added to a home inspection
- Water testing, starting at $175 when added to a home inspection
- Sewer scope, starting at $150 when added to a home inspection
- Mold testing, starting at $275 when added to a home inspection
- Termite (WDI) inspection, starting at $200 when added to a home inspection
- Thermal imaging, starting at $125
- Lead testing, starting at $100 when added to a home inspection
- Pool and spa inspection, starting at $125 when added to a home inspection
- Pre‒listing inspection, starting at $425
- New build blue tape inspection, starting at $525
- Investor property verification, starting at $250
- Soil testing, starting at $250
- Asbestos testing, starting at $300
Jackson County towns we cover
Jackson, Grass Lake, Brooklyn, Spring Arbor, Parma, Michigan Center, Vandercook Lake, Napoleon, Concord, Hanover, Springport, Munith, Pleasant Lake, Clarklake and Blackman, Summit, Leoni, Napoleon, Columbia, Liberty, Grass Lake, Sandstone, Spring Arbor, Rives, Henrietta, Waterloo, Tompkins, Parma, Concord, Hanover, Pulaski, Norvell and Springport townships. If your address is in the county, we cover it.
Questions from Jackson County buyers
Do you serve the Jackson area?
Is radon really that high here?
What should I add on a lake cottage?
Can I be there for the inspection?
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