Choosing Your Home Inspector. Buying a house is the biggest purchase you’ll likely ever make. That’s why you want the best possible home inspector in your corner to tell you whether that cute Bungalow is your dream home … or a lemon with a rotting foundation, aluminum wiring and vermiculite insulation.
But first, how do you know if an inspector is rock-solid? There’s a lot riding on the person you choose, after all. “You’ve got one opportunity of having the home looked at by a professional who has professional training and professional experience to find defects. These are some of the top suggestions gathered from around North America on how to choose a Home Inspector.
A Lot of Organizations
There are tens of thousands of home inspectors nationwide today. That’s in Canada and US. Many inspectors were lured into the business by promises of easy money. No wonder would-be homeowners have trouble knowing whom to trust.
Unfortunately, there are not many requirements for someone to be licensed home inspector. “You can just hang your shingle and go for it.” Even Licensing does not solve problems, in fact is has created more some States where more people jumped on the “Home Inspection” bandwagon, because obtaining a simple license gave them “Respectability”.
Tip No. 1:
Don’t trust an inspector simply because he or she has a state or provincial license or certification. All states or provinces that issue licenses require training, but the training may be so minimal that it is ineffective.
Tip No. 2:
Look for an inspector who is associated with a professional inspection organization. This can help weed out the truly fly-by-night inspectors, but it won’t catch all the bad actors. There is an mixed bag of such groups, with wildly varying criteria for membership. In one, you can send them a $60 check and you’ll be a member.
Look for affiliation with groups such as NAHI, the National Institute of Building Inspectors, and the American Society of Home Inspectors. These are some of the most reputable inspector associations, and their Web sites have a “find an inspector” service to locate a member in your area.
You can also study several home inspection organizations’ criteria for membership: how many homes a would-be member must have inspected; how much — if any — continuing education is required; whether an exam is required for admission, etc. Each is a little different. Inspectors who are fully certified by ASHI, the nation’s oldest such group, with 5,700 members, are required to have completed at least 250 paid professional home inspections and passed two written exams, for example.
Tip No. 3:
Don’t just take your agent’s recommendation at face value. Real-estate agents often recommend inspectors to home buyers. But that arrangement doesn’t necessarily serve the home buyer well, since both agent and inspector have a financial incentive for things to go well: for the agent, a commission, and for the inspector, the possibility of repeat business from the agent. Still, experts suggest some ways to make sure your interests are served.
How To Protect Yourself
Don’t settle. Get more than one suggestion from your real-estate agent. Turner suggests asking for three inspectors’ names. Richardson says to ask for five.
Ask the tough questions. Ask the agent flat out, ‘Would you hire any of these to inspect your home, or your family’s home? This will put them on the spot. Also, ask the agent or others you know, “Who’s the deal-killer in this area? as quoted by many authors and real estate advisors Who’s the Real Estate agents worst nightmare inspector with a reputation for killing deals because he finds all of a home’s flaws. That’s typically who you want.
Tip No. 4:
Ask the hard questions. Once you’ve got an inspector in mind, start looking around his résumé and asking questions. In other words, inspect the Inspector.
Interview the inspector. Any professional will be happy to talk to you. Here’s what to ask:
Talk to me. First, the inspector should make time to talk to you and answer your questions. A true professional will just roll out the information without any hesitation.
Let’s see the résumé. Ask about the inspector’s credentials and experience. Generally speaking, “You should have had a hammer in your hand at some point in your background to have a good grasp of construction.” One Franchise company has this to say about experience, when asked:
I don’t have any construction experience, does that matter?
A: No, business and management acumen, computer prowess and the confidence to market your business and manage others are significantly more important. Home inspections are a learnable skill, especially when taught by the most experienced staff in the industry who will continue to provide you with on-going education and support. We also have an executive model where our franchisees can choose to hire inspectors so they can focus on the managing and marketing of the business. About 10% of our franchisees don’t do any home inspections at all.
Got insurance? Ask whether the inspector carries “errors and omissions insurance,” Also beware of added “Insurance Options” where some inspectors try and sell you a “insurance package” on your appliances or heating units.
Got a guarantee? “Do you offer a guarantee?” Most professional inspectors will offer a “Money Back Guarantee” of some description. This means they are confident enough in their abilities to guarantee them.
Get it in writing. Ask if the inspector puts his findings into a narrative-style report; that’s what you want – not just a long checklist. Usually most reports now include over all pictures of building and any deficiencies found.
Ask to see a sample; it’s often available on the inspector’s Web site. Look at it to assess whether you’re comfortable with the language and can understand it. Also see that the inspector is thorough, and covers all of the areas that the organization he belongs to says he will cover in its standards of practice, this will also tell you if inspector goes up on the roof or not.
Attend the Inspection Yourself. Before hiring the inspector, ask to come along when the home is examined. A BIG RED FLAG would be if they don’t want you to go on the home inspection with them. A home inspection usually takes 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Unless a team is examining the home, be suspicious of anyone who tells you it will take 45 minutes to an hour.
With a little investigating of your own, you’ll likely end up with a home that contains no expense surprises. And that just makes everyone happy