Home inspection in Moulton.

Two separate things, and it is worth keeping them apart. The first is the ground. Appanoose County was mined underground from the 1850s and the last county mine closed in 1971; Moulton was platted in 1867 and was a major production center. Iowa DNR publishes a public coal-mine map and the state runs a mine-subsidence program, so checking the address is free and settles it. But the Iowa Geological Survey's study of the heavily undermined Centerville area recorded relatively few reported mine-related problems, so undermined ground is not evidence of a damaged house. The second thing is the housing itself: coal-era stock built quickly for working families, now well over a century old, where wiring, plumbing, chimneys, roofs and foundations all need dating individually.

Plan on two to three hours for an average home; larger, older or multi-unit properties run longer because there is simply more to document.