Home inspections in Metamora, from Farmers Creek to Thornville
We cover the Metamora area from our Grand Blanc office: the Village of Metamora, Metamora Township around it, Hadley Township to the west and Dryden Township to the east, with Farmers Creek, Thornville and Hadley in between. This is horse country, hunted by the Metamora Hunt since 1928, and the township describes itself by its wide-open large parcels for horseback riding and agriculture, so a listing here is often a farmhouse or a 1980s to 2000s house on acreage down a dirt road, with a barn or pole building, its own well and septic, and a propane tank. The add-ons that matter most here are the well and septic package with the FHA (Federal Housing Administration) or VA (Department of Veterans Affairs) water test, a radon test (the ZIP runs above the county average), the detached-structure inspection for the barns, quoted with the home, and a mold inspection where a farmhouse basement or crawlspace has stayed damp.
Every inspection is done by a certified inspector and the digital report is in your inbox the same day. Thermal imaging of the heating, cooling, plumbing and electrical systems and of any area showing signs of water intrusion is included in every home inspection, along with a drone view of the roof when the weather allows and a sump pump test. We test; we never repair or remediate, so nothing in the report is a sales pitch. 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.
190%
of radon tests in Metamora's ZIP 48455 came back above the EPA fix-it level of 4 pCi/L (18 of 95 on EGLE's map), above Lapeer County's 18%. The only way to know about this house is to test.
340%
of Hadley Township homes heat with propane, 21% across the Metamora area, which usually means a private well and a septic system too (Census ACS 2020 to 2024). The well and septic package covers both, and the water test covers arsenic.
370%
of homes in the Village of Metamora were built before 1950, 18% across the village and the three townships (Census ACS 2020 to 2024). Century farmhouses come with lead paint, asbestos siding and knob-and-tube remnants; we test for the first two and look for the third.
What buyers run into in Metamora
Farmhouses in the village, 1980s houses on acreage
The median home in Metamora Township was built in 1985, in Hadley Township 1981 and in Dryden Township 1985, and 23% of Metamora Township's 1,713 homes went up in 2000 or later; the Village of Metamora, settled in 1843, is older, with a 1977 median and 37% of its 268 homes built before 1950 (Census ACS 2020 to 2024). Pre-1940s farmhouses can still carry knob-and-tube wiring that many insurers refuse. 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 (from $300, with or without a home inspection): 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. We recommend a sewer scope (from $150) on any home built before 1980, any home that has been a rental, and any lot with mature trees near the sewer line, because roots are what break clay and cast iron pipe. On a septic parcel the scope runs the line from the house to the tank.
The village's own wells, and everyone else's
The Village of Metamora runs a small public groundwater system serving about 565 people that met every federal health standard in 2024. Outside the village there is no water utility that we could find, so a house is on a private well permitted by the Lapeer County Health Department, which requires a clean bacteria sample on a new well but has no lab of its own to test an existing one. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) found arsenic above 10 micrograms per liter in 57% of 449 Lapeer County well analyses, 54 of them above 50, commonly in bedrock wells finished in the Marshall Sandstone. So a well here gets our water test (from $175), which covers arsenic along with coliform bacteria, nitrates, nitrites and lead.
Radon
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. Metamora's ZIP runs above even Lapeer County's 18%: 18 of the 95 tests in ZIP 48455 on EGLE's map came back above that level, 19%. A 48-hour radon test starts at $200 when added to a home inspection and runs during the inspection.
Barns, pole buildings, animal housing and the septic under it all
Metamora Township permits barns and outbuildings as structures in their own right: the zoning permit form has boxes for a detached garage and a pole building or accessory building and asks whether the structure will house animals, and the township's pole-barn plan review wants treated posts, galvanized or stainless fasteners and the truss prints on the job at the final inspection. The home inspection standard stops at the house, so tell us at booking what is on the parcel: the detached-structure inspection of a barn, shop or pole building is quoted with the home. The house itself is on septic permitted by the county health department, and Lapeer County has no time-of-sale septic program that we could find, so the buyer's inspection is the only look the drain field gets. The well and septic package starts at $500 when added to a home inspection, or the well alone from $275 and the septic alone from $300. Hadley Township heats 34% of its homes with propane, which usually means a private well and a septic system too. 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 Metamora
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. Thermal imaging of the heating, cooling, plumbing, electrical and water-intrusion areas is part of every home inspection; the energy-efficiency scan of windows, doors and insulation is the add-on. 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
- Energy‒efficiency thermal scan, 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
Areas we cover around Metamora
The Village of Metamora and Metamora, Hadley and Dryden townships, including Farmers Creek, Thornville, Hadley, Cadyville, Kerr Hill, the village of Dryden, the Metamora Hunt kennels on Barber Road, Lake Minnewanna and the Metamora-Hadley State Recreation Area. Next door: Lapeer and Hunters Creek, Oxford, Goodrich, Ortonville and Attica Township.
This page is part of our Lapeer County coverage; the county page has the county-wide radon numbers, the township well and septic rules and every town we work in. All 18 counties are on the Areas We Serve page.
Questions from Metamora buyers
Do you serve the Metamora area?
Yes, from our Grand Blanc office: the Village of Metamora and Metamora, Hadley and Dryden townships, Farmers Creek, Thornville and Hadley included. Book online, or call or text (810) 243-4773.
Will you inspect the barn and the outbuildings?
Yes. Barns and pole buildings are separately permitted structures in Metamora Township (a zoning permit plus the pole-barn plan review), and they sit outside the home inspection standard, so we quote them with the home when you book; tell us how many buildings there are and what is in them. The township's zoning permit form asks whether a structure will house animals and sends owners to the Zoning Ordinance for accessory-building rules; we do not read zoning, but we will tell you what shape the existing barn is in.
Is a septic inspection required at sale?
No. The Lapeer County Health Department permits systems and evaluates vacant land and changes of use but lists no time-of-sale evaluation, so the one you order is the only one. The septic alone starts at $300 when added to a home inspection, or the well and septic package from $500.
Should the well be tested for arsenic?
Yes. Lapeer County bedrock wells in the Marshall Sandstone commonly exceed the 10 micrograms per liter limit (57% of 449 analyses county-wide), and the county has no lab of its own; our water test (from $175) goes to a certified lab and comes back in the format a lender wants. If arsenic shows up, EGLE says a point-of-use reverse osmosis or arsenic adsorption cartridge is the most practical fix.
Does the village have city water?
The Village of Metamora runs a small groundwater system serving about 565 people that met federal standards in 2024. Whether a village house is on sanitary sewer or septic is not published in a form we could read, so give us the address and we will tell you what applies. Outside the village limits, expect a private well.
Can I be there for the inspection?
Yes, and we encourage it, though it is not required. Come for any part of it or all of it; either way the report has photos of everything we found, and we are glad to walk you through it by phone afterward.
5.0 stars across 216 Google reviews as of September 2026.
Very professional, very thorough, and provides at end of inspection a very detailed report with pictures and recommendations.
Gary S., Google review
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