01Agree on the inspection purpose
Write the buyer, seller, lender or advisor’s transaction question, intended property use and known system type before booking. Agree what the inspection should inform; this guide does not provide real-estate or legal advice. A limited inspection is not a pass, capacity determination or guarantee of future performance or absence of concealed conditions. Ask which report and inspection scope the practitioner proposes. Island Health describes a performance inspection report as typically used for a property sale and a compliance inspection report as typically used for a building-permit application. Tell the practitioner about intended renovations or use changes before the scope is agreed. Also disclose whether the property has been unused for several weeks or its water supply is unavailable. Ask how those conditions affect what can be observed or tested, what will remain unverified and whether qualified follow-up is needed. A vacant-property visit should not be treated as proof of how the system will perform under the buyer’s intended use.
02Prepare the property records
Use the linked records guide before the visit. Gather filings, plans, a component map, pumping and maintenance records, alarms, repairs and occupancy, water-use or property changes. Keep source dates and distinguish seller recollection from original evidence; flag undocumented alterations without concealing or interpreting them. Island Health’s available records may be incomplete, requiring an Authorized Person to locate and assess the system. Keep the system documents supplied to the owner and the maintenance records the BC regulation requires owners to retain; a seller summary is not a substitute. Explain available records during follow-up; no upload is needed to start a request.
03Verify the practitioner’s role
Ask what current qualification and experience match the installed system, proposed inspection and intended reliance. Confirm who performs the work and which questions need a different role. Keep technical assessment, transaction advice and legal advice with the appropriate practitioners.
04Agree on methods and scope
List the components and areas included, operating observations, non-invasive or other tests, site review and exclusions in the proposed scope. State whether pumping is needed and who arranges it. Agree methods and access requirements before the visit rather than assuming every component or test is included.
05Coordinate safe access
Arrange owner and occupant permissions, records, lid access, utility information and safe equipment access with the practitioner. Record weather and site constraints and disclose inaccessible areas. Do not open or enter the system yourself; agree who handles any additional access work.
06Separate observations from limits
Read what was actually observed or tested, which components were visible or accessed, conditions on the inspection date and what remained inaccessible or excluded. Identify missing records and unfinished tests explicitly. Findings describe the agreed visit and its limits; avoid pass/fail shorthand or treating unobserved conditions as verified.
07Confirm permitted reliance
Ask whom the report is addressed to and whether the buyer, seller, lender or another named party may rely on it. Agree distribution to authorized participants. A report prepared for someone else may not answer the current transaction question or permit the same reliance.
08Agree on report delivery
Confirm the written report, its author and delivery arrangements before booking. Obtain the final signed version with referenced photographs and attachments kept together. The report should state findings, methods, access, exclusions, inspection conditions, limitations and outstanding records or testing rather than rely on a verbal summary.
09Assign qualified follow-up
Copy each finding accurately into a decision table with its report page, limitation, recommended follow-up, responsible party and timing. Track unfinished tests and missing evidence. Capacity, repair, replacement, negotiation and legal decisions may require different expertise beyond the inspection scope; name the appropriate role rather than converting a finding into an unsupported conclusion.
10Keep transaction deadlines explicit
Record the contract deadline separately from the time required to obtain records, arrange access, inspect, deliver the report and complete qualified follow-up. Ask the relevant parties to resolve outstanding evidence before making transaction decisions. Timing and contractual questions belong with the appropriate advisor; this guide cannot promise availability or completion by a deadline.