Lead Pre-Inspection Walkthrough
See where a pre-1978 property really stands on lead before the price, the rehab budget, and the ROI are locked in. A visual walkthrough by a licensed Ohio lead risk assessor, built for buyers, investors, and agents.
On a pre-1978 property, the biggest surprise usually isn't that suspected lead conditions exist. It's discovering them after the purchase price, rehab budget, cash reserve, loan amount, rent timeline, and ROI are already set. A Lead Pre-Inspection Walkthrough puts that visibility up front, while there's still room to renegotiate, adjust the budget, and plan the work.
On most pre-1978 sales, the federal lead disclosure says "no known lead-based paint hazards," usually because no one has ever looked. A walkthrough is often the first documented look at the potential lead conditions on a property, and it fits inside a standard inspection contingency window: schedule it alongside the general home inspection, before the contingency period closes.
A licensed Ohio lead risk assessor walks the property with you and documents the visible conditions that drive cost and risk: deteriorated paint, friction and impact surfaces, dust-trap areas, moisture problems, and exterior conditions. You leave with a clear, dated, photo-documented punch-list your team or a certified firm can work through, so the expensive surprises don't turn up after closing.
Preparing a rental for a formal Lead Risk Assessment instead? The same walkthrough gets the property cleaned up and in good repair first, so it's far more likely to pass on the first round: fewer failed tests, less re-work, and a faster path to your Lead Safe Certificate.
What's Included
- Interior and exterior walkthrough of all accessible areas
- Visual review of painted surfaces, windows, doors, stairs, porches, and bare soil
- Photo-documented notes on deteriorated paint, friction/impact surfaces, dust and debris, and moisture issues
- A prioritized repair-and-hazard-control punch-list to complete before formal testing
- Guidance on next steps, including when to schedule a full Lead Risk Assessment for Lead Safe Certification
Who It's For
- Brokerages, title and closing professionals, and agents on pre-1978 transactions who need early visibility into potential lead conditions before a deal's timeline tightens
- Cleveland rental owners preparing for a formal Lead Risk Assessment
- Portfolio and property managers who want consistent, checklist-driven prep across many units
What It Costs
$200 flat for most properties. A visual-only, preparatory walkthrough by a licensed Ohio lead risk assessor.
Larger multi-unit properties start at $400, based on the size of the building.
Get a QuoteHow this fits Cleveland's Lead Safe process
This is a preparatory, visual-only service performed by a licensed Ohio lead risk assessor, documenting suspected and potential lead conditions only, within the assessor scope of practice under Ohio Admin. Code 3701-32-07. To be clear about how it relates to formal compliance:
- It's visual-only. No dust, paint, or soil sampling and no lab analysis; it is a visual review, not formal testing.
- It's preparation, not certification. It gets a property ready for formal testing; it does not replace a formal Lead Risk Assessment, and it cannot by itself obtain a City of Cleveland Lead Safe Certificate or any long-term exemption.
- The official inspection is a separate service. When you're ready, we perform a full Lead Risk Assessment, with sampling and lab analysis, and issue the city-ready reports you submit with your application.
- Work that disturbs paint requires proper certification. Any renovation, repair, or painting that disturbs painted surfaces must be performed only by firms and workers certified under the EPA/Ohio Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule and/or licensed Ohio lead abatement professionals, not by uncertified labor.
Related Services
Lead Risk Assessment
The formal, sampling-based assessment with lab analysis and city-ready reports for Lead Safe Certification.
Lead-Based Paint Inspection
Room-by-room XRF testing to locate lead paint and qualify a property for Cleveland's 20-Year Lead-Safe Exemption.
Multi-Family & Multi-Unit
Own rental units? Get volume pricing and consolidated, unit-by-unit reporting.