Orders to Hampton Roads put a lot on your plate at once: housing, schools, timelines and a closing date that may not flex. If you are buying from another duty station, or while your spouse is still overseas, the home inspection is one of the few chances to see what you are actually buying before you sign. Apex Home Inspection is a veteran-owned, owner-operated company based in Virginia Beach, and we built our process around buyers who cannot always be in the room.

A VA appraisal is not a home inspection

If you are using a VA loan, you will hear about the VA appraisal. That appraisal is for the lender. It helps establish value and checks that the home meets the VA’s minimum property requirements. A home inspection is for you. It is a much more detailed look at the roof, structure, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, attic, crawlspace and the systems you will live with every day. Most military buyers using VA financing get both.

Buying when you cannot be there

Plenty of PCS buyers cannot stand next to the inspector on the day of the appointment. That is fine. Here is how it usually works:

  1. You or your agent book the inspection and share the property details and your timeline.
  2. We coordinate access with your listing agent and inspect the home in person.
  3. You get the written report, with photos, delivered within 24 hours.
  4. Out-of-town buyers can join a live video walkthrough so you see what we see, and we talk through what matters and what does not, no matter your time zone.

Your spouse, agent or a family member is welcome to attend in person if that helps. Same-day report delivery, typically finished on site.

What we watch for in Hampton Roads homes

Coastal Virginia has its own patterns: high water tables, crawlspaces, salt air near the water, older neighborhoods close to the bases, and plenty of new construction farther out. Depending on the house, we may also recommend add-ons that protect a tight PCS timeline:

Drone roof checks and thermal imaging are used when the house needs them, which matters even more when you cannot climb the ladder yourself.

Near the bases we serve

We inspect homes across the region, including near Naval Station Norfolk, NAS Oceana, Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Naval Medical Center Portsmouth and Coast Guard Base Portsmouth. City pages for Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton and Newport News cover how we work in each market. See the full list on Areas We Serve.

Selling before you PCS out

If you are leaving Hampton Roads, a pre-listing inspection helps you find and handle issues before the house hits the market. That can keep the sale moving while you are packing and reporting to your next duty station.

A note for realtors working military clients

PCS buyers often buy remote, under a hard report date, with VA financing in the mix. Recommending a thorough inspection, a live video walkthrough option, and the right add-ons (sewer scope, IAQ, pool) protects your client and keeps the deal from blowing up after they arrive. Learn more about how we work with agents on our For Agents page.

Owner-operated, veteran-owned, built for military moves

I am Brad Meyer, a veteran-owned home inspector based in Virginia Beach. Full details for buyers on orders are on our military and PCS home inspection page.

Ready to book? Call (757) 354-3528 or contact us to schedule.