Key takeaways
- Book the electrical inspection as early in your option period as you can, so the report and repair prices arrive before your deadline.
- Confirm with your agent that the utilities will be on and that the panel, attic and garage are reachable, because blocked access is the most common reason a finding goes unchecked.
- How long an electrical inspection takes depends on the size of the house, its age, the number of panels and how easy the attic and panel are to reach.
- Attending the last part of the visit is worth it, because the electrician can show you the findings in person.
- Wattsmith sends the report by text and email after a Texas licensed master electrician reviews and signs it.
Your offer was accepted, the option period has started, and you just booked an electrician to look at the house. Now you want to know how long an electrical inspection takes, whether you need to be there, and when you will have something in writing to take to the seller. This is what to expect at an electrical inspection, step by step, from scheduling to the signed report.
Knowing the sequence matters because your option period is short and every day spent waiting is a day you are not negotiating. A buyer who books early, clears access and knows what the report will contain gets to the negotiating table with days to spare.
Have not booked yet? Call us to schedule and tell us your option period deadline. We plan the visit and the report around it.
Step 1: schedule the electrical inspection inside your option period
A Texas resale contract usually gives the buyer an option period, a set number of days to inspect the house and terminate for any reason. The length is whatever you negotiated. Everything about the electrical inspection should fit inside it with room left over to negotiate.
The best time to book is the day the contract is signed, not the day the general inspection report comes back. If your general inspector is coming first, book the electrician anyway and move the date if you need to. When you call, have the address, the approximate age and size of the house, the listing agent's contact for access, and your option period end date ready.
The visit you are booking is the Real estate electrical inspection task, from $399. It is one flat price for the full evaluation and the signed report, quoted before we arrive. Starting price. Your tech confirms the final number on site before any work.
Step 2: confirm access and that the utilities are on
An electrician cannot test what has no power, and cannot open a panel behind a stacked closet. Ask your agent to confirm with the listing agent that the power is on at the house and that the electrician will be able to reach these areas:
- The main panel and any subpanels, with nothing stored in front of them.
- The attic access, with a clear path to the hatch or pull-down stairs.
- The garage, including the wall where the water heater, laundry or a subpanel may be.
- The exterior meter base and service entrance, with gates open and pets put away.
- Any outbuilding, workshop, pool equipment or well pump fed from the house.
If the house is vacant and the power has been shut off, the inspection has to wait until it is restored. That is the most common reason an electrical inspection slips past a deadline, so check it first.
Step 3: the electrician starts outside at the service
We follow the path power takes into the house. The visit starts outside with the CPS Energy service drop or underground lateral, the mast and weatherhead if the house has them, the meter base, and the grounding electrode connection. We look for rust, water entry, a mast pulling away from the wall, a service drop rubbing the roof, and a ground connection that is loose or missing.
If anything here needs work, meter loop, mast and weatherhead repairs with CPS Energy explains how those repairs are permitted and coordinated.
Step 4: the panel cover comes off
The panel is where most serious findings live, so this part takes care. Where it is safe to do so, the electrician removes the dead front and checks the brand and model, the condition of the bus, whether each breaker fits properly, whether the wire on each breaker is the right size for it, whether two wires share a terminal made for one, signs of heat or arcing, and where the neutral and ground are bonded. Federal Pacific and Zinsco equipment is noted by name, because your insurer will ask.
Every subpanel gets the same check. A house with a detached garage, a pool subpanel or an addition fed from a second panel takes longer for exactly this reason.
Step 5: outlets, switches, fixtures and protection inside the house
Next the electrician works room by room. Outlets are tested with a plug-in tester for polarity and open grounds across the house, not a sample. GFCI outlets and breakers are tested in the kitchen, bathrooms, garage, laundry and outdoors, and their absence is noted where they belong. AFCI protection is noted where it exists. Loose devices, cracked covers, warm outlets and discolored faceplates are recorded.
Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are checked for presence and placement, since buyers often want them corrected at the same time.
For what those outlet terms mean, see GFCI and AFCI outlets explained and smoke detector placement code.
Step 6: the attic and the garage show what the walls hide
The attic is where the wiring type usually reveals itself. Cloth-sheathed cable, knob and tube, or aluminum branch circuits are easiest to identify here. So are open splices, junction boxes with no covers, cable buried under insulation where it should not be, and amateur additions from earlier owners. In San Antonio summers this part of the visit is hot, and a tight or unfloored attic can limit how far the electrician can safely reach. If an area cannot be reached, the report says so.
The garage often holds the water heater circuit, the dryer and laundry circuits, and sometimes a subpanel or a workshop circuit someone added. Those get checked for proper cable, protection and connections.
What the electrician will not do on inspection day
An electrical inspection for a home purchase is non-destructive. Nobody cuts into walls or ceilings, and the seller's furniture and stored belongings stay where they are. If a dresser blocks an outlet or boxes cover the panel, the electrician records that area as not accessible rather than moving someone else's property. That is one more reason to settle access with the listing agent ahead of time.
Repairs are a separate step. The report tells you what is wrong and what each correction costs, and you decide with your agent what to ask the seller for. Any repair work is scheduled after that decision, at a flat price approved before work starts, with a permit where the work requires one.
Want to make the most of the visit? Bring our list of questions to ask an electrician before buying a house and go through it at the walk-through.
How long does an electrical inspection take
It depends on the house. The things that change the time are the size of the house, its age, how many panels it has, how easy the attic and panel are to reach, and how many findings turn up along the way. A newer house with one panel and a clear attic moves quickly. An older house with a subpanel, a detached garage, a crowded attic and a few surprises takes longer, because each finding has to be traced and photographed.
We do not rush the visit to fit a fixed window. When you book, tell us the size, age and any outbuildings, and we will tell you what to plan for at that house so you can schedule around it.
Want a rough idea for your specific house before you book? Call us with the address and square footage, and we will tell you over the phone.
Should you attend the electrical inspection
You do not have to, and the report stands on its own. Still, attending the last part of the visit is worth it. The electrician can walk you to the panel, show you the double tap or the scorched terminal in person, and answer questions while you are both standing in front of it. You will understand the report better when it arrives, and you will negotiate with more confidence.
If you cannot be there, your agent can attend. Either way, leave the electrician room to work during the testing itself. Questions are best saved for the walk-through at the end.
If you are the agent, send this page to your buyer the day the contract is signed, so access and utilities are settled before the electrician arrives. Our page on how we work with real estate agents covers scheduling and report delivery.
When the electrical inspection report arrives
After the visit, the findings and photos go to a Texas licensed master electrician for review. The master electrician signs the report in our app, and it carries a certificate of completion that shows the document has not been altered since it was signed. The report is then sent to you by text and email, ready to forward to your agent, your lender or your insurer.
The report groups findings by area of the house. Each finding has a recommendation and a rating of Safety, Repair or Maintenance, with labeled photos placed beside it. A priority action plan at the end puts the findings in order, so you know what to ask the seller for first.
For a line-by-line walk through the report itself, read electrical inspection report explained, and for what the visit covers, see the electrical inspection checklist.
What happens after the inspection
With the report in hand, you have three useful things: a list of what is wrong, a rating for how much each item matters, and a flat price for each repair from our published price book. That is what you and your agent need to ask the seller for repairs, request a credit, adjust the price or walk away before the option period ends.
If you want the repairs done, we can do them as a licensed contractor (TDLR license TECL 41806), with the permit pulled and the city inspection scheduled where the work requires one. The price is approved before work starts.
Read electrical repairs after a home inspection in Texas for how buyers use the report in the negotiation, and see our pricing page for the published price book.
Your option period is already counting down. Book your real estate electrical inspection today. We are veteran-owned and serve San Antonio and the surrounding service areas.