Who this is between
These terms apply between Vallarta Home & Rental Inspections ("we", "us") and the person or company who engages us ("you"). They apply when you book an inspection, a rental or turnover inspection, maintenance work, or the condominium document enquiry service.
If we have agreed something different with you in writing for a particular job — a scope, a price, a deadline — that agreement wins over anything on this page. This is the default, not a ceiling.
Booking a service means accepting these terms. If something here doesn't work for your situation, tell us before we start rather than after; most of it is more negotiable than a page like this makes it sound.
What an inspection is
A visual and functional examination of the property's accessible systems and components on the day we attend: structure, roof, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, appliances and moisture, with thermal imaging included at no extra charge. You receive a written report with a photograph of every finding, in English or Spanish.
Findings are ranked by seriousness, honestly. We will not present a worn door seal as a structural emergency, and we will not soften a real safety issue because a closing date is at stake.
The inspection is performed by the inspector, start to finish. Inspection work is not subcontracted. (Maintenance and repair work is different — see below.)
What an inspection is not
It is not invasive. We do not open walls, lift floors, dig up drains or dive the pool. Specialist testing — structural engineering, invasive termite treatment, sewer camera, laboratory analysis — is arranged separately, and we will tell you plainly when we think it is warranted.
It is a snapshot of one day. It reports the condition we found and could reach at that time. It is not a warranty, a guarantee, or an insurance policy against anything failing afterwards. A water heater that worked on Tuesday can fail on Friday, and that is not a defect in the report.
It does not cover what we could not reach. Areas that are locked, blocked by stored belongings, concealed behind finishes, or unsafe to access are recorded as not inspected. If utilities are disconnected on the day, the systems that depend on them cannot be tested — we will say so in the report rather than infer.
It is not a certification. We do not certify compliance with any building code, and we do not issue any official or governmental approval. Mexico has no mandatory inspection standard and no licensing body for inspectors — which is precisely why we publish our scope rather than asking you to assume it.
It is not legal advice. The condominium document service reports what the reglamento says and what the administración tells us. Interpreting what that means for your position is a lawyer's work, and we hand it over rather than guess at it.
Booking, access and the day itself
Quotes are based on what you tell us about the property. If the property turns out to be materially different — substantially larger, a different type, or with systems you had not mentioned — we will tell you before proceeding and agree a revised price with you, not after the fact on the invoice.
You arrange access. We do not hold keys to client properties. Access is arranged through you, your building, your agent or whoever already holds a set. If we arrive and cannot get in, that counts as a cancellation without notice — see below.
You are welcome to attend, and most buyers do. If you cannot, we will walk you through the findings afterwards by phone or WhatsApp.
We work in Puerto Vallarta, Conchas Chinas, Amapas, Nuevo Vallarta, Bucerías, Punta de Mita and Sayulita. Travel fees for the outlying areas are published in the rate schedule. Anywhere further is quoted individually before we agree to it.
Cancellation and rescheduling
Free with at least 24 hours' notice. Reschedule or cancel with a day's warning and there is no charge, ever. Closings in this market move constantly and we would rather you told us than felt trapped into a date that no longer works.
Inside 24 hours — including being unable to give us access on arrival — we reserve the right to charge for the reserved slot, because the day was held for you and cannot be resold at short notice. We do not apply this mechanically: if a deal collapsed at midnight or the building refused entry through no fault of yours, talk to us.
If we have to move a booking, we will tell you as soon as we know and there is no charge to you of any kind.
Fees and payment
All prices are in Mexican pesos, as published in the rate schedule, plus the travel fee for your area if one applies. Commercial properties, multiple units and anywhere outside the areas listed are quoted individually.
We accept cash (USD or MXN), credit and debit card, bank transfer and PayPal.
Payment is due on completion of the inspection, and the report is issued once payment has been received. In practice that is the same day and the report still lands within 24 hours — but if you are paying by transfer from abroad, start it early so a slow bank does not hold up your own report.
Maintenance work is different: anything outside an agreed plan is quoted and approved in writing before it starts, and plan work is invoiced monthly.
The report, and who may rely on it
You receive the report within 24 hours of the inspection — an interactive online report you can open on your phone and share with a link, and a PDF you keep.
The report is prepared for you, and only you may rely on it. That is not a formality. It exists because a report written for a buyer, on a particular day, for a particular decision, is not a document a stranger can safely lean on two years later.
You may share it freely with your agent, your notario, your lawyer, your lender or your family — that is what it is for, and a report is at its most useful when a negotiation gets difficult. What you may not do, and what nobody receiving it may do, is treat it as though they had commissioned it: a seller, a subsequent buyer or a later owner acquires no right to rely on it, and we accept no responsibility to them.
The report may not be republished, sold, or presented as anyone else's inspection. We keep reports and job photographs so that we can answer questions about an inspection years later, which we regularly do.
If something goes wrong
Tell us first, and quickly. If you believe we missed something or got something wrong, contact us before the condition is repaired or altered wherever that is possible. We will come back and look. An issue we can still see is one we can resolve; one that has already been fixed and paid for is a conversation about invoices rather than about the property.
Our liability for any claim arising from our work is limited to the amount you paid us for that service. That limit is the reason the scope above is written out in detail rather than left vague: what we are selling is a careful, honest, non-invasive look at a property by someone who lives here, and the fee reflects exactly that. It is the standard arrangement in this trade worldwide, and we would rather state it plainly on a public page than bury it in a document you sign on a bonnet.
Nothing here is intended to exclude any liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.
We are not a party to your purchase, your lease or your negotiation, and we take no fee or commission from anyone else involved in it — no referral fees paid, none accepted. What you do with the report is your decision.
Maintenance and repair work
Maintenance is carried out directly or through trades we have worked with for years. Where a job needs a specialist — anything beyond minor electrical work goes to a licensed electrician — we say so and arrange it rather than attempting it.
Where we have inspected a property and later carry out work on it, we tell you plainly that the finding and the fix came from the same place, so you can weigh that and get another quote if you want one.
We photograph finished work and report what was actually done. Receipts for materials and third-party trades are documented and forwarded to you.
We do not supervise contractors you have engaged directly, and we do not hold keys.
Privacy, changes, and the law that applies
How we handle your information is set out on the privacy page.
If these terms change, the date at the top of this page changes with them. The terms that apply to your job are the ones in effect on the day you booked it — we do not apply later changes backwards.
These terms are governed by the law of Mexico, and by the courts of Jalisco. The English and Spanish versions of this page say the same thing; if a difference ever emerges between them, tell us and we will fix it.
Questions about any of this before you book — which is the right time to ask — info@vallartainspections.com or 322-328-8725.