Mike Lagana, the owner and operator of KHIS has 30 years experience in the home building trades and has been a nationally certified home inspector since 2013 through InterNACHI, the world's largest home inspection trade organization. Mike is also the only Certified Master Inspector on Kaua'i and is the only Certified Commercial Building Inspector.

However there is no education, experience, license or insurance requirements for home inspectors in Hawaii and there are currently 'inspectors' who have few if any of the above qualifications that are performing inspections on Kaua'i. Choose your home inspection company wisely.

We inspect from the roof to the foundation and almost everything in between that we can see and access.

Here's a link to the Standards of Practice (SOP) we follow. The SOP is considered the minimum standard; we go above the minimum standards in many important ways.

For example, The SOP requires we only check 'a representative number' of windows, doors, outlets, switches etc. We diligently check every accessible component we can access. Keep in mind that the inspection is primarily visual in nature and one of our limitations is we do not touch or disturb furniture, personal belonging or stored items and defects or damages may exist at those areas that were not visible or accessible.

Please view our Sample Inspection Report to see what is included.

KHIS offers additional inspection services that are outside the SOP. View our available add-on services here.

Please view our pricing here.

We will inform you about significant damage and safety issues in areas we can access. If the accessible damage appears to be caused by pests or if we have concerns about organic growth we will say so as a courtesy.

Keep in mind that detecting organic growth, termites or other pests is outside the scope of the inspection and the inspection does not attempt to determine the absence or presence of either. Be aware that we are not liable in any circumstance for undetected or unreported organic growth or pest issues.

We do not perform 'Mold Inspections', however we do offer mold testing. If we see anything that looks like it may be a mold problem, we will note it in the report as a courtesy. We know without any sort of testing that there is likely mold in the home, just as in almost every other home in the world. What we are trying to establish with mold testing is, does the home have a MOLD PROBLEM? Click HERE for pricing.

KHIS currently offers two different services regarding moisture and mold.

  Infrared Moisture Detection:

We perform moisture detection at every home inspection at bathrooms and kitchen and any place there's a sink because moisture problems which are conducive to organic growth are most likely going to be found to be near the plumbing fixtures. We can expand this service to include the floors, walls and ceilings throughout the home. Keep in mind that appliances, furnishings and personal belongings may limit access and view and infrared moisture detection does not prevent or predict future moisture problems and only reflects the conditions observed at the time of inspection.

The cost is $200 for the first 1,000 square feet. $50 for every 500 square feet thereafter.

  Mold Testing:

Air samples are typically taken at each bathroom area and the kitchen. An exterior sample is also taken as a control sample. The lab then analyzes the air samples with results available within 5-7 business days. The exterior samples are considered the normal mold levels and the interior mold samples are compared against it. If there is a specific area of suspected mold growth, swab tests can be taken. The swab test will tell if and what kind of mold is present.

If the lab analysis indicates elevated mold levels at the interior of the home, we suggest that you share the lab report with the mold remediation specialist of your choice for treatment options. The advantage of having KHIS do the mold testing is that we are not hoping to find a problem that we can then fix for you. The disadvantage is that if there does turn out to be a mold issue, we cannot advise you how to go about correcting it; we must leave that to the mold remediation professionals.

Each air sample or swab sample is $175. The client can choose to do as many interior air or swab samples as they desire. If we are doing air tests, we need a minimum of two, one outside and one interior. If not scheduled as a regular home inspection, we have a minimum of $300.

We can't give you an official answer. We do not give advice on HOW to perform repairs, provide cost estimates, or estimate the value or worth of any component. Any questions about estimated costs, estimated remaining life span of a component or how to perform needed repairs or renovations should be discussed with an appropriately qualified contractor or other or other qualified professional that is experienced in that field of work.

Our job is much like that of a general practitioner doctor. We perform a top to bottom overview of the home. Important evaluation and repairs or safety issues should be evaluated by appropriately qualified professionals to determine if and how a component should be repaired.

The focus of the inspection is to identify 'Material Defects' that are within our Standards of Practice; that is, significant damages and safety issues. We will also make note of items that we feel are important to upgrade to current building standards that may not have been required when the home was built as well as items that have minor damage and may need routine maintenance or repairs.

We will note the average expected lifespan for some components but we do not give estimates on the remaining life span of any component.

Recommended upgrades, improvements, and items needing routine maintenance should not be considered an itemized or comprehensive list as that is not the focus of the inspection. We suggest that you contact the appropriately qualified specialists for evaluations and repairs.

While we can't conclusively determine how the house will handle heavy rainfall, we can give our educated opinion by looking at rain gutters, grading and drainage. Keep in mind rain gutter and drainage issues may become apparent during rainy weather that were not able to be observed during the inspection.

We do not determine if the property is in a flood zone or if any mitigation measures have been performed against natural disasters.

Inspection of the waste water system is outside the scope. We note any visible defects or damages at the visible drain lines. We do offer waste water and sewer line camera inspections as additional inspection services.

The inspection does not attempt to verify any component is complaint with current code. Any home more than a couple years old will not be compliant with all current codes. We note defects, damages and improper installation. We inspect to determine that components that are within our scope are safe and function as intended. The fact that a component is obsolete is not necessarily a defect, however we may suggest components be updated, upgraded or otherwise improved.

Inspection of appliances is outside the scope however we perform a courtesy inspection for basic functionality. Significant damages, safety issues or recommended improvements will be noted.

Several. Our report has many maintenance and repair suggestions that are specific to our climate.