Comprehensive Full Home Inspection Melbourne FL
A 4-point looks at four systems because that is all an insurer asks about. A full home inspection in Melbourne, FL looks at the rest of the house too: structure, attic, insulation, windows and doors, drainage, interiors, and the exterior. If you are buying, the full inspection is the one that protects the purchase. If you already own the house and only need insurance paperwork, the 4-point is enough. If this is your first one, here is what happens during a 4-point inspection, system by system.
Buyers of older Brevard homes usually need both.
The carrier wants the 4-point before it will bind a policy, and the inspection period in your contract is the only stretch of time when you can still renegotiate. Booked together, the 4-point costs $75 instead of $150, and the insurance form comes out of the same appointment as the buyer's report. You learn about the 1970s panel or the water heater past its service life while the seller can still be asked to deal with it.
Bundle and save: Add a 4-point inspection to your full home inspection for $75, half the $150 standalone price. Every full home inspection also includes a free wind mitigation report, a $125 value.
Understanding Full Home Inspection Services
A full inspection covers the structure, roof, attic, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, interior rooms, and exterior of the house, with thermal imaging and a moisture meter used throughout and aerial drone video of the roof. The report arrives within 24 hours, usually the same day. A 4-point covers four of those systems and is written for one reader: the underwriter deciding whether to insure an older home.
Benefits of a Full Home Inspection in Melbourne FL
A 4-point will tell an insurer that the panel is a Federal Pacific. It will not tell you about the soft subfloor under the hall bath or the stained sheathing over the garage. That is the job of a comprehensive full home inspection, and every one we do includes:
- Every major system, from the slab to the attic
- Thermal imaging to find hidden moisture
- Aerial drone video of the roof surface
- Moisture metering to confirm what the camera shows
- A free wind mitigation report ($125 value)
- A digital report with photos and severity ratings
- Documented findings to negotiate repairs with
- A client consultation to go over the results
Understanding Four Point Inspection Services
The four points are the roof, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC. Those are the systems behind the most common large claims on older Florida houses, so they are the ones an insurer wants documented before it writes or renews a policy.
Florida carriers commonly ask for a 4-point on homes 30 years or older, and some ask as early as 20. The cutoff is set by your carrier, not the state, so check with your agent before assuming a newer house is exempt.
In Brevard County that rule catches a lot of houses, because so much of the housing stock went up between the 1970s and the 1990s.
What is Included in a Four Point Inspection?
In a Melbourne, FL four point inspection, we document these four systems:
Roofing
Covering type and material, estimated age and remaining life, overall condition, and any sign of leaks, damage, or poor repairs. Underwriters look hard at roof age, so a permit date for the last reroof helps.
Electrical
Main panel make and condition, breaker operation, visible wiring, grounding, and any hazard in plain view. Many carriers treat Federal Pacific and Zinsco panels as uninsurable.
Plumbing
Supply and drain pipe material and condition, water heater age and condition, and active leaks. Polybutylene, galvanized steel, and cast iron can change whether a carrier writes the policy, or what it charges.
HVAC
System type, age, condition, and whether it heats and cools. Age is the number that matters. Some carriers want an old system replaced before they will issue coverage.
Why Do You Need a Four Point Inspection?
Usually because the insurer asked for one. The request shows up with a new policy on an older house, with a renewal notice, or with an application to Citizens. The underwriter reads the report to judge how likely a roof, electrical, plumbing, or HVAC claim is on that house. If the report shows a condition the carrier will not accept, expect to fix it or find another carrier before a policy is written.
- Commonly asked for on homes 30+ years old
- Needed for Citizens Insurance eligibility
- Asked for at renewal by many carriers
- Needed when you buy an older home
- Often requested after a major system replacement
- Finds problems before they turn into claims
Roof Certification Inspections Melbourne
A roof certification is a separate form from the 4-point. It records the roof covering, its age, and its remaining useful life, and the carrier uses it to decide whether the roof is insurable as it sits today. A Citizens roof certification from SureHome is $125. We fly aerial drone video over the whole roof, which picks up the slopes that can't be walked safely.
SureHome holds a Florida roofing contractor license (FL #CCC1336594) on top of home inspector license #HI 11755.
The person judging how many years your roof has left is licensed to install one.
Importance of Roof Certification for Homeowners
On a 1990s house in Melbourne, the underwriter wants one answer about the roof: how many years it has left. The certification gives it. In Melbourne a roof certification is often done on the same visit as the 4-point, so both forms reach the insurer together. It also tells you, before the carrier does, whether you are looking at a repair this year or a replacement down the road.
Process of Roof Certification Inspections
Roof Surface Inspection
We record the roofing material, its age, and its condition. Aerial drone video covers every slope, including sections that are hard to reach from a ladder.
Structural & Drainage Assessment
We check the roof structure, the decking where it can be seen from the attic, flashing at every penetration, and the gutters and downspouts.
Documentation & Certification
We complete the Citizens Roof Certification form, or the equivalent your carrier asks for, ready to send to your insurer. You get it within 24 hours, usually the same day.
Melbourne FL Inspection Rates and What to Expect
Our 4-point inspection rates are in the table below, and the full schedule of inspection rates in Melbourne, FL covers everything else we do. If a letter from your carrier is the reason you are reading this, every form you need for insurance compliance and premium credits is on this list.
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| 4-Point Inspection (standalone) | $150 |
| 4-Point, added to a full home inspection | +$75 |
| 4-Point, over 5,000 sq ft | $250 |
| Citizens Roof Certification | $125 |
| 4-Point + Wind Mitigation Combo | $250 |
Best value: Book a full home inspection and add the 4-point for $75. The wind mitigation report is already included free, so the buyer's report and both insurance forms come out of one visit.
Factors Influencing Inspection Costs
Square footage sets the price. The 4-point is $150 on most homes, $250 over 5,000 sq ft, and $75 when it rides along with a full inspection. Larger or older homes take longer to document, especially with an original electrical panel or a roof carrying several rounds of patches. Properties 30 or more minutes or 20 or more miles from Melbourne add a $25 trip charge.
Comparing Local Inspection Rates
When you compare 4-point prices, compare who signs the form and how fast it reaches you. Ours is completed under Florida home inspector license #HI 11755, by a company that also holds general contractor license #CGC1530959 and roofing contractor license #CCC1336594. It arrives within 24 hours, usually the same day.
$150 standalone. $75 bundled.
Wind Mitigation Inspections in Melbourne
A wind mitigation inspection records how well a house is built to resist hurricane wind, on Florida form OIR-B1-1802. The form has six categories: roof covering, roof deck attachment, roof-to-wall connection, roof geometry, secondary water resistance, and opening protection. Your insurer reads it to decide which premium credits you get.
Wind mitigation is frequently combined with a 4-point, since both land on the same underwriter's desk. The combo is $250. On its own a wind mitigation report is $125, and it is free with every full home inspection.
How Wind Mitigation Can Save You Money
In Melbourne, FL, a report that documents qualifying construction features can mean a lower homeowners insurance premium. How much lower depends on your carrier and on what the house has. A hip roof counts. So do roof-to-wall clips or straps, impact-rated windows, and protection on every opening. A house with none of those still gets a completed form, and the form shows you which upgrade would earn a credit. Ask your agent which of those credits your current policy already applies.
Steps Involved in a Wind Mitigation Inspection
- Roof shape and covering type
- Roof deck attachment method
- Roof-to-wall connection type
- Roof covering age and permit date
- Opening protection (windows, doors, skylights)
- Secondary water resistance barrier
- Recorded on FL Form OIR-B1-1802
- A signed form for your insurance carrier
Pre-Sale Inspection Services in Melbourne FL
If you are selling an older Melbourne house, the buyer's insurer will likely ask for a 4-point, and the buyer's inspector will look at the same four systems. A pre-sale inspection with the 4-point included shows you the roof, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC findings first, while you still have time to fix them or price them in.
Finding a Zinsco panel before you list costs you $150. Finding it ten days into a contract costs whatever the buyer decides to ask for.
Advantages of a Pre-Sale Inspection
A pre-sale 4-point inspection in Melbourne, FL gives a seller six practical advantages:
- You see the problems before a buyer negotiates with them
- Time to make repairs before listing
- A report you can show prospective buyers
- Less chance of the deal falling apart at inspection
- A list price that accounts for known issues
- Fewer surprises between contract and closing
Preparing Your Home for a Pre-Sale Inspection
Before a pre-sale 4-point inspection in Melbourne, FL, prepare these key areas:
Clear System Access
Move whatever is stored in front of the electrical panel, water heater, air handler, and attic hatch. If we can't reach it, the report has to say it was not inspected.
Gather Documentation
Find the permits or receipts for any roof, HVAC, electrical panel, or re-pipe work. The 4-point records the age of each system, and a permit date is the cleanest proof that a roof or panel is newer than the house.
Address Visible Maintenance
Fix what you already know about: a dripping faucet, a missing panel cover, a tripped breaker, a lifted shingle. Items like these are cheap to correct before the inspection and awkward to explain once they are in the report.