Real Estate News

1. Get a Home Inspector With A Lot Of Experience:
It takes a full time home inspector at least 50 inspections to start to develop the eyes, ears and nose for hunting down problems. Part-time home inspectors simply don’t have the time in the field to develop that keen sense of detection .  Always ask how many inspections the inspector conducts yearly and how long theyhave been doing them .  A quality home inspector completes between 300 to 400 inspections annually – low quality inspectors conduct 50 to 100 inspections annually . Conducting 300-400 inspections each year requires extensive referrals, by prior clients, lenders, real estate agents and others — so there is a much greater chance the inspector is not blind !

2.  Education & Training:
Home Inspectors are responsible for evaluating all of the systems and components of the home — not just one portion , but literally thousands of components  .  In order to provide a competent evaluation of all of these components requires formal education and training.  Did the inspector attend one of the top home inspection schools such as The American Home Inspectors Training Institute (AHIT) or Inspection Training Associates (ITA)? Or, did he complete a correspondence course, or worse have his brother-in-law show him how to inspect?
Upon completion of the inspector’s formal education did they complete a comprehensive training program where they completed 40 to 50 home inspections with a seasoned professional in the field?  Or did they learn on the job at the Buyers expense?  If the inspector is a one-man operation , then who is checking the quality of the inspector’s work? Engineering and technology in today’s home is becoming more complicated all the time. Extensive continuing education and training is a must !

3.  Certifications:
While certifications are certainly important, it’s the combination of Experience, Education and Training that make the difference in the competence of your next home inspector.  Certifications let the world know tha the inspector can pass a test not that they can inspect a home correctly. We all know people who are certified for one thing or another that we wouldn’t use under any circumstances . There is simply no substitute for experience and proper training.

4.  The Inspection Report:
The top home inspectors in today’s business will not produce handwritten reports.  A professional inspector will provide a combination checklist/narrative report. Technology has evolved where you should expect to get a full-color report on site, with digital color photographs of the issues found during the performance of the inspection.  The report should provide “Summary Pages” with specific categories like Major Concerns, Safety Issues and Deferred Cost Items, etc.The report should not contain repair costs or plans of action for repairs.  Professional home inspectors inspect — they don’t repair! An inspector that also does repairs should always be avoided due to the conflict of interest that are inherent in that situation.Ask for a sample of an inspection report so you’ll know what you can expect for your time and money.  After all, you are the client!

5.  How Long Has The Inspection Company Been Years In Business:

Is the inspection company locally owned and operated or are they some far away faceless corporation where no one is monitoring and evaluating the quality of their inspectors performance ? If you are dealing with a multi-inspector firm, how long has the inspection company been in business ?  Does the inspection company have qualified employees serving as customer service representatives to schedule appointments and provide good customer service .

6.   Ask To See What Other Home Buyers Have Said About The  Inspector:
A Professional Home Inspectors will ask their client’s to submit comment cards when they complete the inspection.  They will also want to know what they are doing right, as well as what might need improvement.  If the inspector will not provide client referrals, he might be blind in more ways than one!