How to Pick your Home Inspector

How to pick your Inspector

For most people, the purchase of a home is the largest investment they’ll ever make. Getting an independent, expert opinion on the operability of the structure and its systems is a no-brainer. But not all home inspectors have the same experience, training, or certifications – what’s more is there are currently no federal regulations governing home inspectors. Home inspectors are governed only by whatever laws are in place in the state in which the inspection is performed, and these laws vary greatly. So how do you make sure you’ve hired the right person for the job?

When shopping for a home inspector, it’s vital that you do your homework and interview each inspector based on the checklist below.

1. Do not price shop. When hiring a home inspector, you’re basically hiring an advocate with your interests in mind to give you their expert opinion on the home’s condition. We have no interest in whether the deal closes or not, we care only about the condition of the home. With that in mind, it is a terrible idea to price shop. Unfortunately, you get what you pay for with home inspectors like everything else.  Training, certifications, and continuing education don’t come cheap to the inspectors and therefore, their expertise isn’t going to be cheap either. When it comes to home inspections – as with most things – you get what you pay for.
2. Research their credentials.  It is always a good idea to find out what certifications a home inspector has. Some associations require minimum training, experience, continuing education and also require the inspector pass certain exams.  However, not all associations are created equal.  Check out the associations’ minimum requirements.  The best associations require that the inspector pass yearly exams and obtain a specific amount of continuing education credits. Although most states do not require continuing education for their licenses.  Also find out what level of the association the inspector occupies.  Some associations have “candidate” and “associate” or other levels that basically mean that the inspector has not met the requirements to be a full member.  Also ask what certifications the inspector holds and then research them as well.
3. Look for ten years of  licensed experience. We see very often in this industry that people claim they have decades of ‘experience.’ What they mean is that one time 20 years ago they helped their friend Bob build a deck and so they have been doing inspection and construction for about twenty years. When reality they have been licensed for three months. It is critical that you ask the home inspector how long they have been licensed. The churn in this industry is very high, if you can find someone that has been licensed for ten years it mean a lot.  
4. Ask for references.  It can be a good idea to get a list of references from the inspector. Often times they have three recent clients they can provide contact information for. This allows you to get first hand knowledge of what other people think of the inspectors service. 
5. Make your own decision.  We think making your own decision is the best advice for our clients. Oftentimes home buyers might ask their realtor. This sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t as it depends on the realtor. You always have your interest at heart though so make sure you do independent research and find someone you think is good.

Ask to see one of their inspection reports.  At the conclusion of any inspection, you should receive a report on the inspector’s findings.  Again, inspectors are going to vary widely – report styles can range from the minimal checklist to the jargon-filled narrative.  Inspection reports can be difficult to understand, so it’s important that you check out a sample report.  Items marked as “fair”, “poor”, or “inadequate” without any further explanation will not help you understand what the problem is or what exactly to repair.  Make sure that the inspector always specifies the exact problem and recommends repairs.  The inspector should also indicate an estimated cost of any repairs he or she recommends.