Home inspections in Saginaw County, from Birch Run to Freeland
We inspect across all of Saginaw County from our Grand Blanc office: Saginaw, Saginaw Township, Frankenmuth, Birch Run, Freeland, Chesaning, Bridgeport, St. Charles, Hemlock and the townships. The county has some of the oldest housing we work in, with the city of Saginaw full of pre-1950 homes and the townships on private wells, so the add-ons that matter here are lead and asbestos testing, the sewer scope, a mold inspection for damp basements, a radon test, and the well and septic package with the FHA or VA water test.
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 Saginaw 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 Saginaw County homes date from before 1950: knob-and-tube wiring, clay sewer lines and plaster. Sewer scope and lead test recommended.
0%
of Frankenmuth radon tests were above the EPA fix-it level of 4 pCi/L, against 11% countywide (EGLE map, 2,405 tests). Test every house there.
What buyers run into in Saginaw County
Some of the oldest housing in our 18 counties
The median Saginaw County home was built in 1968, 71% of the county's 86,208 housing units went up before 1980 and 22% 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 Saginaw plan on knob-and-tube remnants, galvanized pipe and clay sewer lines as well.
Radon: low in the city, higher in Frankenmuth and Freeland
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. In Saginaw County, 11% of the 2,405 tests reported to EGLE's radon map came back above that level (255 of 2,405), but Frankenmuth ran at 19% of 449 tests and Freeland at 16%, against 5% to 12% in the city's ZIP codes. A 48-hour radon test starts at $200 and runs during the inspection.
Wells, septic and the water test your lender wants
Outside Saginaw, Saginaw Township 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 Saginaw 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.
Basements, moisture and mold
Saginaw County is flat, low and wet, and basements here work hard: sump pumps that never rest, block walls that weep and finished basements that hide it. Thermal imaging and moisture readings are part of every home inspection, so hidden moisture behind a finished wall shows up in the report with a picture. 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.
Services and starting prices in Saginaw 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
Saginaw County towns we cover
Saginaw, Saginaw Township, Frankenmuth, Birch Run, Freeland, Chesaning, Bridgeport, St. Charles, Hemlock, Merrill, Carrollton, Zilwaukee, Oakley and Thomas, Tittabawassee, Kochville, Buena Vista, Spaulding, Taymouth, Brant, Marion, Fremont, Richland, Swan Creek, James, Albee, Blumfield, Maple Grove, Brady, Chapin, Jonesfield and Lakefield townships. If your address is in the county, we cover it.
Questions from Saginaw County buyers
Do you inspect in the city of Saginaw?
What should I add on a pre-1950 house in Saginaw?
Is radon high in Frankenmuth?
Can I be there for the inspection?
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