Update: COVID-19 and Home Inspections, June, 2020

Our Governor has relaxed Minnesota’s “Stay at Home” order and replaced it with “Stay Safe Minnesota”. Basically, we should take many of the same precautions, i.e., wash your hands and wear masks, however, we can start gathering is small groups when needed.  This has allowed us to modify our policies for clients and agents attending our home inspections.

New home inspection attendance policies:

We are allowing our clients and their agents, to attend the home inspection “walk-through”, with a number of special restrictions in place.

• Limited number of people. We’re allowing up to two clients plus their agent to attend the inspection. No children please.
• Masks are required. While in the home together, the client, inspector and agent will need to wear a mask.
• Six-foot distance required. This basically means that we won’t be hanging out in small rooms together.
• Clients won’t attend until the near the end of the inspection. This gives our inspector a chance to get a large portion of the inspection completed without bumping into other people. The “walk-through” usually occurs about 2 to 2.5 hours after the start of the inspection.

Safety precautions:

While on-site, our inspector will take the following steps to help maintain a sanitary environment in people’s homes:

• We will sanitize our hand before entering the home.
• Wash hands during every inspection, especially after touching things like faucets, switches, knobs and door handles.
• We’ll keep hand sanitizer nearby and use it when needed.
• As needed, we’ll use disinfectant wipes, on faucets and door handles.
• After the inspection, we’ll use disinfectant wipes on our tools and equipment before going to the next inspection or home for the day.
• If our inspector has a fever or cough, we will not conduct the inspection.

These steps apply to all inspections, everyday.

With schools closed and kids potentially being left home alone, it’s also important to note that our policy is that we will not enter a home with minors present unless a second adult is present.

We will continue to monitor things on a daily basis, and we’ll adjust any of these policies as needed or recommended to help ensure everyone’s safety.

Many people are still buying houses here in Minnesota. As long as that’s happening, home inspectors are needed. As long as people need home inspections, we at Sky Blue Inspections will continue to deliver high quality home inspections.