1. Experience:
It takes a full time home inspector a minimum 50 inspections to develop theexperience for hunting down problems. Part-time home inspectors simply don’t have the time in the field to develop that radar . Be sure to ask how many inspections the inspector performs yearly and how many years theyhave been doing home ispections . A quality full time home inspector completes between 300 to 400 inspections annually – blind inspectors conduct 50 to 100 inspections yearly . Completing 300-400 inspections each year requires extensive referrals, by previous 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 aspect , but literally thousands of components . In order to provide a competent evaluation of all of these elements takes formal education and training. Did the inspector attend one of the better home inspection schools like The American Home Inspectors Training Institute (AHIT) or Inspection Training Associates (ITA)? Or, did he only 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 didthe inspector learn on the job at someone else’s 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 necessary !
3. Certifications:
While certifications are certainly important, it’s the compounding of Experience, Education and Training that make the difference in the competence of your next home inspector. Certifications ,while important, only proves the inspector can pass a test not that they can inspect a home properly. We all know people who are certified for one thing or another that we wouldn’t use under any circumstances . There is no substitute for experience and proper training.
4. The Inspection Report:
The top home inspectors in today’s business will not generate handwritten reports. A professional inspector will render a combination checklist/narrative report. Technology dictates that you should expect to receive a full-color report on site, with digital color photographs of the issues discovered 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 inherent in that situation.Always 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. 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 work ? If you are dealing with a multi-inspector firm, how long has the inspection company been in business and are they locally owned ? Does the inspection company have qualified employees serving as customer service representatives to schedule appointments and provide good customer service .
6. Ask For Refferals:
Quality Professional Home Inspectors ask their client’s to submit comment cards when they complete the inspection. Professional Inspectors want to know what they are doing right, as well as what might need improvement. If the inspector will not provide client referrals,you probably want to consider someone else!
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