The fastest path: send us your inspection report
If you're under contract on a Burke home and the home inspector flagged electrical issues, send us the report. We read it, run the items through our estimating system, and within a few hours you have a clear breakdown:
- Which items are real safety concerns vs. inspector boilerplate
- What each fix actually costs (not a placeholder estimate)
- What can wait, what can't, and what's a negotiating point with the seller
- Which items are symptoms of a bigger underlying issue, and what addressing the root cause looks like
Most of these jobs are 1-2 hours of on-site work and run $285 to $900 depending on the scope. We can usually be on-site within 5-7 business days, faster if your closing date is approaching.
Call (703) 997-0026 or email the report to info@ajlongelectric.com.
Why home inspection reports look scarier than they are
Home inspectors flag everything. That's their job — they have to disclose anything that could conceivably be an issue, and their liability runs in one direction: missing something. So a typical 60-page report on a 30-year-old Burke home will list 15-25 electrical items, ranging from real safety problems to things that aren't actually wrong.
Common things that show up on Burke home inspection reports:
“Outlets not grounded” — Extremely common in homes built before the 1970s, and even some 1970s Burke homes have older two-prong circuits in specific rooms. Real fix is rewiring or installing GFCI protection. Real fix cost varies a lot.
“Federal Pacific panel present” — Flagged automatically because of known safety issues with FP breakers. This is real. We see Federal Pacific panels in Burke regularly and they should be replaced.
“Double-tapped breaker” — Two wires under one breaker terminal. Sometimes a code violation, sometimes installed correctly with a rated breaker. Inspector usually can't tell which from looking at it.
“Reverse polarity outlet” — Hot and neutral wired backwards on an outlet. Real safety issue but usually a 15-minute fix.
“GFCI not present in [bathroom/kitchen/garage/exterior]” — Code requires GFCI protection in wet locations. If it's missing, it should be added. Quick fix.
“Open junction box” — Splice without a cover. Code violation, easy fix.
“Aluminum branch wiring” — Common in Burke homes from 1965-1973. Real concern, and a separate scope of work from typical inspection fixes.
“Insufficient service capacity for current load” — Flagged when the panel is at or near 100-amp and the home has been added to over the years. Often points to a panel upgrade, not a quick fix.
Some of these are real and need to be addressed. Some are noise. The point is that without someone who knows the Burke market actually reading your specific report, you're either going to over-pay fixing things that don't matter, or under-fix and leave real issues in place.
How we handle Burke inspection reports
Step 1: You send the report. Email, text, or upload through our scheduling page. The full PDF is fine. We don't need anything else.
Step 2: We respond within a few hours, usually same-day. You get a numbered list — every electrical item from the report, with our recommendation:
- •Real issue, fix before close (with cost)
- •Real issue, can wait but should be addressed in [timeframe] (with cost)
- •Cosmetic flag, not a code issue (no cost — explanation of why)
- •Symptom of a larger underlying problem (with explanation and root-cause options)
Step 3: You decide what to do. If you're using the report to negotiate with the seller, you have an electrician's actual numbers instead of placeholder estimates. If you're closing as-is and tackling things yourself afterward, you have a prioritized list.
Step 4: We schedule the work. Most inspection-driven jobs we can do in a single visit. We bring the parts, do the work, you have documented fixes for your records and for any future home sale.
What it actually costs
Single-visit inspection report response (typical scenario): $285-$900 for 1-2 hours on site, fixes documented with photos before/after.
Common items and ballpark costs:
| Item | Ballpark cost |
|---|---|
| Replace 1-3 ungrounded outlets with GFCI protection | $285-$450 |
| Fix reverse polarity at multiple outlets | $285-$385 |
| Add missing GFCI protection (kitchen/bath/exterior) | $285-$485 |
| Address double-tapped breakers | $285-$385 |
| Close open junction boxes / make-up improperly spliced connections | $285-$385 |
| Replace failed/recalled breakers in serviceable panel | $385-$650 |
| Add smoke/CO detector to meet current code | $285-$485 |
| Replace damaged outlet/switch (per location) | $285-$385 |
| Combined “fix everything on the report” 1-2 hour visit | $485-$900 |
These are real ranges. If your report has so many items that it can't be addressed in 1-2 hours, we'll quote the larger scope honestly — sometimes the right answer is a panel upgrade or partial rewire instead of patching individual items.
When the inspection points to something bigger
Sometimes a report has 10 items, and 8 of them are symptoms of one underlying problem. The most common patterns we see in Burke:
Multiple flagged outlets + an old panel. Often points to original 1970s aluminum branch wiring in specific circuits. Patching individual outlets is a temporary fix; the real solution is either pigtailing with COPALUM connectors (if aluminum is just in a few circuits) or full circuit replacement.
Double-tapped breakers + space issues + miscellaneous wiring oddities. Usually means the original panel ran out of space years ago, and previous owners (or unlicensed handymen) jury-rigged additions over time. The real fix is a panel upgrade — and that solves 6-8 individual report items at once for less total cost than fixing each one.
Federal Pacific or Zinsco panel + multiple breaker issues. The panel itself is the problem. These panels have documented breaker failure rates that can leave a circuit hot when it shouldn't be. We don't recommend patching these — we recommend replacement.
"GFCI not present" in 4+ locations. If GFCI protection is missing in multiple kitchens, bathrooms, garages, exterior outlets, etc., it usually means the home hasn't been brought up to current code in any meaningful way. Worth thinking about whether other current-code requirements are also missing.
We'll tell you when the right answer is a bigger job. Patching individual items just to satisfy the inspection report and then having the same problems re-emerge in a year isn't a good outcome for you, and we don't pretend otherwise.
Pre-listing inspections (selling a Burke home)
Less common but increasingly smart: get an electrical inspection done before you list. We come out, walk the property, and produce a clean report for your real estate agent that documents the electrical state of the home.
Two reasons sellers do this:
- Heads off buyer-side surprises. If the buyer's home inspector finds something, the buyer renegotiates. If you already know what they're going to find, you can either fix it (and price the home accordingly) or disclose it upfront (and price for it). Either way, you control the conversation.
- Marketing advantage. “Recent electrical inspection on file” is a credibility signal that helps a Burke listing in a market where buyers are getting nervous about older homes.
Pre-listing inspection is typically $385-$485 for a standard Burke home. Includes a written report you can hand to your agent.
Insurance and refinance audits
Some insurance carriers are starting to require electrical certifications for older Burke homes — particularly homes with original Federal Pacific or Zinsco panels or aluminum branch circuits. Refinance lenders sometimes flag the same issues.
If you've gotten a notice from your insurance carrier or mortgage company asking for an electrical certification, send it to us along with the home address. We'll come out, do the inspection they're asking for, and produce documentation that satisfies the requirement.
What this isn't
We're not a home inspection company. We're a licensed electrical contractor that reads home inspection reports for Burke homeowners and addresses the items that need addressing. We don't do whole-home inspections covering plumbing, HVAC, roofing, foundation, etc. — for that you want a licensed home inspector.
What we do is the electrical follow-up: read the report, separate signal from noise, fix what needs fixing, and document the work.
Frequently asked questions
My closing is in 5 days. Can you turn this around?
Usually yes. Send the report now. If the work fits in a 1-2 hour visit and we have a slot, we can often be on-site within 48-72 hours. If it's a bigger scope (panel upgrade, etc.), 5 days might be tight — but we'll tell you immediately so you can adjust the closing or negotiate.
Will you give me a free assessment of the report before I commit?
Yes. Send the report, we read it and reply with our take. No charge for the read. You only pay if we do the work.
Can you send the documentation directly to my agent / lender / insurance company?
Yes. Tell us who to send it to and we'll send the work order, photos, and any required certifications directly. We do this regularly.
What if I disagree with one of your recommendations?
Tell us why. Sometimes we're missing context, sometimes we'll explain our reasoning further, sometimes we'll do exactly what you want even if it's not what we'd recommend. Our job is to give you accurate information; what you do with it is your call.
Do you handle inspection items outside Burke?
Yes — anywhere in our service area (Northern Virginia, DC, and parts of Maryland). This page is Burke-specific because Burke has a particular housing-stock pattern that produces a particular pattern of inspection findings, and our process is the same anywhere.
Why AJ Long Electric for Burke inspection work
We've been licensed and operating in Northern Virginia since 1996. Three decades of pulling Burke permits, working with Fairfax County DPWES inspectors, and seeing what shows up in Burke home inspection reports — there's not much that surprises us at this point.
We're licensed master electricians in Virginia, fully insured, with a 5-year warranty on installation work. We pull permits when permits are required (not all inspection-driven items need them; we'll tell you which do). We document everything with photos and written work orders so you have records for closing, insurance, or future sale.
Send the report. We'll be honest about what's there.