Hiring A Home Inspector

What To Know When hiring A Home Inspector

First Published Date: June 3, 2016

When you are buying a home, it is extremely important that you hire a home inspector. A good home inspector will ensure that you are not given any surprises when you move into your new home, and a bad home inspector can cost you thousands in things you never knew you would have to repair or replace in your home.

First things first, the realtor will probably give you a home inspector and you can use them, but do not rely on them. They probably are associated with the realty agency somehow, are being paid through them somehow and are not likely to stop a home sale. Always get a second opinion.

When you are looking at hiring a home inspector, make sure you ask them open-ended questions about their experience and training. You want them to explain their experience, rather than just answering yes or no to your questions. Your inspect needs to have training in construction and maintenance because that will give them a proper background for what you need. An inspector who also knows, or is, a structural engineer is also very important.

When you are interviewing the home inspector, find out what they will inspect and what they will not. If the inspector only looks at the interior of the house, rather than the roof and the outside as well, then you should not hire them.

Most inspectors should be able to provide you with a report template, or a sample report, which you can use to see what they are going to look on, how much detail goes into it and whether or not they will provide a lot of information in the report.

It goes without saying, but you need to get references for your home inspection. A lack of references means you could end up getting a bad home inspector. Once you have the references, call the people on the list and ask them about their experience with the home inspector and how satisfied they were. Talk to individuals who had a home inspection a year or more ago because some problems may not show up right away when a person buys a home. Mold is a good example of this.

Ask the home inspector what the policy is for mistakes or omissions that they make. No home inspector can catch everything, so you want a home inspector who can admit to mistakes and have something in place to remedy any problems that surface down the road. This will protect you in case something is found that the home inspector did not tell you about.

Lastly, find out if the home inspector is a member of any association. When a home inspector is a member of a home inspector’s association, they will be held accountable by the standards of that association. It also gives you an avenue for complaint if something goes wrong with the inspection, or the home inspector.

Home inspections are great, if you get one that is qualified.