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In most parts of the country, the HVAC system is just one more item on the inspection checklist. In Michigan's Upper Peninsula, it's the item.

Upper Peninsula winters are hard on everything outdoors, and decks take more of a beating than most homeowners realize.

Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S., and because kids breathe faster and spend more time close to the ground, they can be more vulnerable to it than adults.

As temperatures drop across the Upper Peninsula this September, rodents start actively looking for a way inside. For a commercial property, an undetected entry point isn't just a nuisance. It can turn into a much bigger problem. Here are three risks worth taking seriously. 1. Property Damage Once rodents find their way in, they don't stay contained to one area. They can cause damage throughout a building, often in places that aren't checked regularly. What starts as a small,

Most home and commercial inspections turn up a handful of minor items, and that's completely normal. It doesn't mean something is wrong with the property. But every so often, an inspection uncovers something more serious, the kind of finding that goes beyond a simple repair request and calls the whole deal into question. Here are three that tend to fall into that category. 1. Structural Issues Structural concerns affect the integrity of the building itself, not just a surface

Thinking about listing your home this fall? Here are five worth addressing before you list.

Before the ground freezes and this becomes harder to address, here are the questions worth asking.

Somewhere in the United States, a house fire starts roughly every 82 seconds. It's a startling number, but the more useful piece of information is when these fires tend to happen. Heating equipment is one of the leading causes, and the months of December and January see the sharpest spike. By the time winter fully sets in, a lot of the damage that could have been prevented has already been done. Why Timing Matters Furnaces, wood stoves, and chimneys often sit unused for month

If you live in an older home here in the Upper Peninsula, your basement has probably seen a lot over the years. Older homes have character, solid construction, and a track record of standing up to harsh winters. But age also brings something less charming: aging plumbing, worn seals, and water heaters that are past their prime. Over time, these small issues can turn into serious basement water damage. Why Older Homes Are More Vulnerable Plumbing systems don't fail all at once

When people schedule a home inspection, they're usually thinking about the big-ticket items like the roof, the foundation, and the furnace. Radon testing often gets treated as an afterthought, something you can add on if you want to, but not something most people ask for by name. That's a mistake, and it's one I see often enough that I wanted to write about it directly. What Radon Actually Is Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that forms when uranium in soil and r

August in the U.P. doesn't feel like the time to think about winter. The weather is good, the days are long, and most homes and buildings seem to be holding up just fine. But that's exactly the problem. Summer is when issues go unnoticed, not when they go away. A lot of what causes trouble in January was already there in August. It just hadn't been tested yet. What Summer Hides A roof can look fine on a dry summer day and still be one heavy snow load away from a real problem.

Most health risks come with some kind of warning sign. A funny smell, a headache, a cough that won't go away. So it's natural to assume that if nothing feels off in a home, there's nothing to worry about. Radon doesn't work that way. A Risk With No Symptoms Radon is a naturally occurring gas that seeps up into homes and buildings from the ground below. It has no smell, no taste, and no visible presence — and exposure to it doesn't cause any noticeable symptoms in the short te

Every summer, homeowners start noticing the same thing: cooling bills creeping up, even when nothing else about the house has changed. It's easy to assume the AC unit is getting old, or that it's just been a hotter summer. Sometimes that's the case. But often, the real answer is up in the attic. The attic has more influence over a home's energy bill than most people realize — and it's usually the last place anyone thinks to check. How Attic Heat Turns Into a Higher Bill On a

Last week, many of you probably noticed something unusual: smoky, hazy skies drifting over our part of the U.P. Air Quality Alerts were in effect across Michigan as wildfire smoke from Canada rolled in, and for a few days, you could actually see and smell what was in the air we breathe. As a home and commercial inspector, that stretch of smoky skies got me thinking about something I deal with year-round: the air quality risks we can't see or smell at all. Wildfire smoke is te

I've been doing home inspections in the U.P. long enough to know that summer storms have a way of finding every weak spot in a house. Not the obvious stuff — the stuff that's been sitting there quietly for a year or two, waiting for the right combination of wind and rain to turn into a real problem. Every summer, I get calls after a bad storm from homeowners who had no idea a certain part of their house was vulnerable until water was coming in somewhere it shouldn't. So I wan

Summer is one of the busiest seasons for real estate in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Longer days, better weather, and increased buyer activity make it an attractive time to put a home on the market. If you're planning to sell, preparation matters. First impressions can influence everything from the number of showings you receive to the final sale price. While every home is different, there are several important steps sellers should take before listing. Here's a simple seller p

As a home and commercial inspector serving Michigan's Upper Peninsula, I spend a lot of time looking at roofs, foundations, siding, and other major systems. One of the most overlooked parts of a property is also one of the most important: the gutter system. Your gutters are designed to collect rainwater and direct it safely away from your home or building. When they stop doing their job, water can end up where it doesn't belong—against your foundation, behind your siding, or

If you're buying a home in the Upper Peninsula, the roof deserves more attention than most buyers give it. A roof that looks fine from the driveway can be in rough shape up close — and in the U.P., our climate cuts years off a roof's expected lifespan. Heavy snow loads press down on roofing materials for months at a time. Ice dams form when heat escapes through the attic, melting snow that refreezes at the eaves and backs water up under the shingles. Temperature swings that c

Fresh paint, new laminate flooring, and updated light fixtures make a house feel move-in ready. They also make it harder to spot what's underneath. After 2,000+ inspections across the Upper Peninsula, I've learned to look past the cosmetics — and what I find behind them is often the most important part of the report. I've seen new laminate flooring installed over subfloors with water damage. I've seen freshly painted walls covering cracks that indicate foundation movement. I'

As a home inspector in the Upper Peninsula, I see buyers fall in love with homes every week during the busy spring and summer market. The excitement of finally finding the right property can make it tempting to move quickly, especially when homes are selling fast. But over the years, I’ve also seen one mistake cost homebuyers thousands of dollars time and time again: skipping the home inspection or underestimating its importance. A home can look perfect during a showing. Fres