WDO Inspection Calculator

Inspection purpose applies a multiplier to the entire cost — base fee plus all space surcharges — not just a flat discount, and annual maintenance inspections use a 0.85x multiplier versus 1.0x for a real estate sale. The reasoning built into the calculator is that the inspector is already familiar with a property under an ongoing maintenance plan, so the same square footage and features cost 15% less than a first-time sale inspection.

It applies to the whole pre-multiplier total: (base fee times story multiplier) plus crawl space, basement, and garage surcharges are all summed first, then that entire subtotal is multiplied by the purpose factor. So a commercial inspection's 1.4x premium raises the crawl space and basement surcharges along with the base fee, not just the base fee alone.

Stories and square footage are two independent inputs that both raise cost: square footage feeds the base fee directly ($25 per 1,000 sq ft), while each additional story adds a separate 15% multiplier on top of that base-fee-plus-surcharge total, because more floors mean more exterior wall and interior area to walk regardless of the footprint. A 4-story building at the same square footage as a 1-story building carries a 1.45x multiplier from stories alone.

It's a rough placeholder, not a real estimate — the calculator computes it as half to one-and-a-half times the property's square footage in dollars, with no connection to what type of organism is found, how severe the damage is, or the treatment method required. It exists only to set rough expectations before an inspection; once an inspector documents actual findings, that placeholder should be replaced with a treatment-specific cost estimate.