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How to choose a
home inspector
Things to
ask....
-
Who’ll be doing the
inspection; the owner or an employee? I would want the owner inspecting my
house. Franchises usually send an employee who may not exercise the same
level of care
as the owner. Additionally, employees may not be certified and may not have
the same level of experience as the owner. Many employees in NC are
"associate inspectors" which means that they are 'in training' and are not
fully licensed. I would not want an associate inspector inspecting
my home. I would not want an employee, who carries little liability and
is paid according to how many inspections he does per day,
inspecting my home.
-
If in
NC, is the inspector fully licensed or is he an "associate"? As mentioned
above, an associate inspector has done less than 100 inspections. He's
essentially a rookie. A home inspector in training. And your house will serve
as the training ground.
-
Is the inspector licensed in
NC and SC? If you're having an inspection in SC, you still want a NC licensed
inspector
(the licensing requirements for NC
are much more rigorous. NC also audits inspector reports and requires annual
training. So be sure to hire an inspector who is also licensed
in NC. (SC only requires a 40 hour course and passing a simple test. After
that, you're pretty much a home inspector for life with no requirement
whatsoever for
annual training, etc.)
-
What are the
inspector's
qualifications? What is his educational background? How much continuing education
does he receive? How long has he been a home inspector? Is he a full-time
inspector?
(Many inspectors are part time and only do a few per month. I would want
someone full time who’s been an inspector for 3 years or more.) Many home
inspectors are previous plumbers, masons, carpenters. That’s fine, but that
may mean that they are
under-educated. While experience is important, you also want someone who can
do research when necessary, can type, and who doesn’t use boilerplate, canned
statements from a computer program, so look at their reports. My
qualifications and work history are
here.
-
Does he
have sample reports
online? Do the reports appear
comprehensive with lots of photos and illustrations, or is there a lot of
"appears serviceable" to describe the components. No matter who you hire, look at sample reports. Look at more than
one. If they don't have any to share, move on to someone else. Stay clear
of anyone who issues a canned report in the driveway!
- Is he certified by a national association? (I'm a
Master Inspector, certified by the National Association
of Certified Home Inspectors).
- How much
training has he received? When was the last time he took a training course
and what was it about? Remember...SC requires NO annual training.
- How many inspections
does he perform a day? “No more than two” is the right answer. More than two,
and they fly through them and probably aren’t thorough.
- How much time will
he spend on your home? (If it has a crawl space, about 3 hours would be correct
for a 2,500 SF house. A slab will cut the time down by about 30 minutes.) Some
inspectors are in and out before the dishwasher finishes running. Don’t go
with anyone who spends less than 2 hours.
- Will he point out significant cosmetic issues in new homes?
Do you want things like gouges in wood floors or granite countertops, poor
sheetrock installation, or other poor workmanship issues pointed out? It isn't
required and you might not get that service.
- Does he check every
window, every door, every outlet? Home inspectors are not required to, but I do and you
should want that done.
- Find out about
his physical limitations? How old is he? How much does he weigh? You want
someone who can get inside an attic hatch, or crawlspace if you have one. If
the roof is one story and has a low slope, will he walk on it? (I will under
most circumstances.)
- How long does it
take him to get you the report? 24 hours is standard. (If he does the report
in the driveway, don't expect anything more than boilerplate computerized
statements and fluff about how to maintain a home.)
- Will he do a
re-inspection if you want it? A re-inspect is where the inspector returns to
the home to verify that corrections have been made. Many don’t do re-inspects.
Find out what they charge. ½ of the original inspection price or about
$100/hour would be correct.
- How many home
inspections has he personally performed? 1000 or more would be good. I'm a
CMI, Certified Master Inspector, which means I've done more than 1,000
inspections.
-
Verify the inspector’s license.
I have mine
online. Most don’t. Ask him to fax it to you. Believe
me...there are unlicensed people out there!
Verify a SC license
here
(scroll down to "residential builders" in the drop down list).
Verify a NC license
here (be aware
that an "associate inspector" is a home inspector in training)
- Now go ahead
and ask..."how
much do you charge for an inspection" (about the least important thing
you can ask). Remember...hiring a cheap home inspector can cost you tens
of thousands of dollars!
That will narrow the odds that you’ll
get a good inspector. Remember...just having a license doesn't mean he's
competent. Attend the
inspection if you can.
Be careful!! Avoid
the type of inspector who markets to Realtors like this.
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