Home inspector in the
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are not Miami — different housing stock, different infrastructure, different code, different insurance market. Most homes are stilted (pilings or piers due to FEMA elevation requirements), many run on septic + cistern instead of municipal sewer/water, and salt-air corrosion is more aggressive than anywhere on the mainland. We've been inspecting Keys properties for over a decade and know the quirks of every era and every island.
What's different about a
Keys inspection.
Inspecting a Florida Keys home requires a specialist's eye for issues that simply don't exist on the mainland. Stilted construction means the substructure is everything — pilings, piers, breakaway walls (BFE compliance), and the connection points are typically the most important inspection findings. Septic systems are common in the Upper and Middle Keys, and septic-tank condition is now a state regulatory issue (Monroe County's septic-to-sewer conversion program is ongoing). Cisterns in older Keys homes need their own assessment — algae, sediment, pump condition. Salt-air corrosion is brutal on AC condensers (often replaced every 5-7 years), exposed rebar, hurricane straps, and metal roof fasteners.
The Keys are also Florida's most demanding wind-speed zone — 180-200 MPH design speeds vs. 170 in Miami-Dade and 145 in Broward. That means hurricane straps, impact glass, and roof-to-wall connections aren't optional code minimums; they're absolute requirements. We document every wind mitigation credit precisely because insurance in Monroe County is hard to come by and discounts matter enormously.
Every island.
Every neighborhood.
From Key Largo to Key West. A travel fee applies in the Keys, and Jorge quotes it up front before you book.
Key Largo
The gateway. Mile markers 95-110. Coral Shores, Cross Key, Tavernier border. Mostly stilted single-family with some condo developments.
See Key Largo page →Tavernier
Mile markers 88-92. Plantation Key edge. Quieter than Key Largo, mostly single-family stilted homes and waterfront properties.
See Tavernier page →Islamorada
Mile markers 73-90. Plantation Key, Windley, Upper Matecumbe, Lower Matecumbe. Luxury waterfront market with significant 2nd-home inventory.
See Islamorada page →Marathon · Big Pine · Key West
We inspect throughout the Middle and Lower Keys on scheduled route days. Travel fees scale with distance — we quote the all-in number up front. Call Jorge to schedule.
Call (786) 839-1644 →Transparent travel fees.
Quoted before you book.
Travel is included within 60 miles (about 1 hour of driving) of our West Kendall office, which covers Miami-Dade, Broward, and the Boca Raton area. A travel fee applies in the Keys and beyond 60 miles, and Jorge quotes it up front before you book.