What to Expect When Inspecting a Vancouver Home With a Secondary Suite

A secondary suite can be a great way to earn some extra income on your Vancouver home or provide an excellent place for guests to stay. However, Secondary Suites have unique elements that need to be inspected during a home inspection. In today’s blog we will be looking at what you should expect when getting an inspection done on a Vancouver home with a secondary suite.

Additional Fees

When you are getting a home inspection on a home that includes a secondary suite the home inspector will often charge a “suite fee” to perform the inspection. This is because in many ways a secondary suite requires its own dedicated inspection that is similar to the overall home inspection. It adds time and scope to the initial inspection and therefor requires additional labor on the part of the home inspector. At The Inspectors we charge a flat fee of $100 per secondary suite in addition to the regular fee for the home inspection.

The Inspection

When inspecting a secondary suite, the Inspector will need to inspect the major components of the secondary suite as if it were its own dwelling. The Inspector will look at the additional plumbing required for the suite, the kitchen setup, the ventilation, the added electrical demand of the secondary suite, the entryways, smoke and CO detectors as well as looking at egress points such as windows. The Inspector will also perform this inspection in the same manner even if the secondary suite isn’t legal or the property owner has no intention of using it as a rental, as it carries with it important safety concerns for the whole property.

Multiple Inspections

It is important to note that a secondary suite inspection performed by a home inspector is not the same as meeting the inspection requirements to determine the legality of the secondary suite. The home inspection simply assesses the condition of the home for a homeowner or potential buyer, the inspection to determine the legality of the suite needs to be performed by a separate entity, one licensed by the City of Vancouver.

We hope we have been able to show you what to expect when you have a secondary suite inspected as part of an overall home inspection. If you have any questions about home inspections or secondary suite inspections, please feel free to contact us.

The Inspectors is a group of very experienced home inspectors who bring reliability and integrity to the practice of home inspection. These inspectors follow closely the established standards of the Canadian National Association of Certified Home Inspectors.

If you have any questions about this article or would like to talk to us about home inspection, we encourage you to call us at (778) 788-5301