Getting home inspection service quality right the first time

What to take away

Radon testing is the easiest upsell in a home inspection business and the easiest way to lose money on one. The test itself is cheap. The scheduling, the return trip and the client conversation are not.

What the buyer already read

Most buyers who ask about radon have already found the EPA's guide for home buyers and sellers. It tells them to use qualified testing and mitigation providers and explains why test conditions and timing matter in a transaction.

That sets the expectation you are quoting against. If your proposal says "radon test included" and the buyer expects a short-term test placed under closed-house conditions with a lab report, you have promised more than a checkbox.

Read the guide once a year. It is short, it is free, and it is the document your client is holding.

Price the trip, not the device

A radon test is two visits to the same house: one to place the device and one to collect it. Price both.

Work the arithmetic in your own numbers:

Floor price per test = (T + S) x R + L. If that number is close to what you charge for a full inspection, you are underpricing the inspection, not the test.

Two rules keep this line profitable. Never bundle a radon test into a package without adding its cost to the package price. Never let a technician place a device on the way to another job without counting the return trip.

Closed-house conditions are the whole test

A short-term test only means something if the house was closed up for the required period before and during it. Windows shut, exterior doors shut except for normal entry and exit.

Somebody has to confirm that. Usually it is the seller, sometimes the buyer's agent, sometimes nobody. Write down who confirmed it and when.

If the house was open, the result is not a result. Say so in writing at the time, not after the client has a number in hand.

Keep the chain of custody

Every radon file should hold the same five things:

A missing item is a question you cannot answer six months later when the deal has closed and the buyer is calling. Store these with the inspection file, not in a separate folder.

Where inspections stop and mitigation starts

An inspector tests. A mitigator designs and installs. Those are different licenses in most states and different insurance in all of them.

Do not sketch a system, do not estimate a fan size, and do not tell a client what mitigation will cost. Name a licensed mitigator in your area and hand the report over.

This protects you twice. It keeps you inside your scope, and it keeps the mitigation contractor from blaming your test when the post-mitigation number does not come down.

The call you should script

A high result is the moment the client stops hearing you. Have one person who makes that call, and give them three sentences: what the number is, what it does not mean, and who to call next.

Do not speculate about health effects. The EPA and the state radon program publish that guidance, and a certified industrial hygienist can answer property-specific questions. Your job is to deliver the result and the referral.

Log the call. Date, time, who you spoke to, what you said. If the client later says nobody told them, the log is the answer.

Reviews and records

Ask every client for a review, and ask all of them, not just the ones who seemed happy. The FTC's guide to soliciting and paying for online reviews is clear that picking only likely-positive clients, or offering incentives that skew the picture, creates a misleading impression.

On the bookkeeping side, radon adds a device cost, a lab invoice and sometimes a subcontractor. The IRS guidance on business records describes the standard: a system that clearly shows income and expenses, with the documents behind each transaction. Your CPA can tell you how long to keep them and how to treat the equipment.

If you are still deciding whether radon belongs in the service menu at all, work it through in your inspection business plan before you advertise it.

Common questions

Do I need a separate license to test for radon?

It depends on the state. Some require certification or a state radon license, some require nothing beyond the general inspection license, and some require the device to be analyzed by an accredited lab. Confirm with your state radon program or licensing board before you sell the service.

Can I offer mitigation as part of the inspection?

Not as an inspection. Mitigation is a construction trade with its own licensing and insurance in most states. Refer clients to a licensed mitigator and keep your report separate from the mitigation design.

What do I tell a client whose result came back high?

Give them the number, tell them what it does not mean, and name a licensed mitigator. Do not discuss health effects or estimate mitigation cost. Point them to the EPA and their state radon program for the health guidance.

How long do I keep radon files?

That is a records question, not an inspection question. Your CPA and your E&O carrier both have a view, and the carrier's answer usually controls. Ask both before you set a retention schedule.