How to Find a Professional Home Inspector

Finding a Professional home inspector doesn’t have to be reminiscent of a pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey game. I think you should interview a home inspector just as you would your pool contractor or your doctor or your employee…upside down and gagged. Really, it doesn’t need to be a multi-deposition process but think about this…only about half of the states in the nation require licensing of home inspectors. Since this is a relatively small cost start up business, there tends to be a lot of “HGTV Cowboys” in un-regulated states. Since I have the soapbox here, I would also add that’s not necessarily a bad thing either. Think about it. Ever heard of a quack doctor or fool contractor? There are heavily regulated professions with not only licensing but high dollar insurances and that doesn’t keep out 100% of the bad guys/gals, now does it.

In Florida, there has been legislation introduced every year for the past several. Bills that start out with teeth and make it tough to become and maintain a professional state license but get watered down by the time it slips out the back door, I think do more harm than good. Jim Murphy of Home Pro analogies “The bill goes in a race horse and comes out a jack___”. I really don’t want to be lumped in with a bunch of also rans that obtained a “Professional State License” that was easy to pass and easy to maintain. Think also about this. Ever see a “WDO” report? The Wood Destroying Organism inspection reports all look the same with the same questions. I, on the other hand, have the opportunity to be as creative as I want to be. You can tell by my writing style. I guess I could go on all day but my point is that you really need to be careful whom you choose to perform your home inspection because you will find persons on many different levels of competence, with varying experience, different price ranges and dissimilar tool boxes.

Obvious and basic questions I would ask are

1. What is his/her background and experience? Just because someone has seen every This Old House episode doesn’t make him/her a good inspector, but it does help.

2. What certifications do they hold? Let me quote a letter I received from a certain trade association. “Many state regulatory agencies now have authority over Home Inspectors and are starting require that all home inspectors be “Certified”. As a result of this, we are offering a “certification” which consists of a 20 question test and a fee of $35.00.” Another large organization has un-proctored exams with questions like “Circle the correct spelling of the word receptacle.” This is so good, I couldn’t make it up! Ya know, I was born but it wasn’t yesterday! Just because they say their certified, please! The use of the words like “Certified” and “Master” have been used and abused. My son is a “Master Certified Registered and Bonified Home Inspector”…He’s five. The American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) is the oldest and most respected association in the inspection industry, nation wide. The Florida Association of Building Inspectors (FABI) is similar but state based. A Standards of Practice, Code of Ethics, Continuing Education requirements and candidate/member list can be found at www.ashi.org or www.fabi.org.

3. Duhhh, what trade associations do they belong to? See #2.

4. What kind of tools do they have? A good inspector will have lots-o-tools. A friend of mine looking to enter the field went on a ride along with another more experienced inspector. He had already purchased several tools and was proud to take them with him on this ride along. The more experienced guy unrolled a dish towel with 3 screw drivers. That was the extent of his tools. When a professional inspector documents amperage draw on a motor, air conditioner or furnace, it’s a fact. When a professional detects 37.1% moisture content in a wall, it’s not a guess.

5. What type of report format do they use? If you are from out of the area and the inspector uses multi-part carbonless forms that can’t be emailed, there may be an issue.

6. When will you receive the report? If your closing is quick, you may not be able to wait a day or two or three.

7. How long have they been in business and how many inspections have they performed? Experience is priceless. An ASHI/FABI member has performed a minimum of 250 inspections per ASHI/FABI Standards.

Just a last minute tip: Even if you plan on doing some major rehab on a house and don’t think you really need the inspection, you just might be right. Where am I going with this? Even the most experienced entrepreneurs pay for an inspection. With a professional report in hand and lots of nasty pictures, the smart investor uses it to re-negotiate. Ask me about the “$100,000 club” And Lou Brown said “Yeah Baby!”

Should a professional inspector offer a written guarantee on the inspection?

Every good and moral professional inspector will stand behind what he or she says and reports, however…it’s not really possible to guarantee the entire inspection. The reason being is that conditions change constantly and components age. For instance, here in Florida, we can experience weeks without rain followed by daily rain. When things are dry, the windows, roof, doors, walls, etc may perform well. When things are wet, the windows may leak, the roof may have nails pop, the doors may swell/stick and the walls may allow moisture penetration through cracks and so on and so on. Appliances that worked while the inspector was present may blow a valve, a spring, an element. Make sense now?

How “bout the discoveries when furniture and stored items are removed, hmmmmm. Everything will break at some point and until Jesus comes back, we can”t see the future. Inspection reports document the condition and operation of things today. The inspection report provides the buyer (or seller) information upon which they can now make an educated decision on whether a house fits their needs and goals. To expect an inspector to warrant all items, visible or not, for an infinite amount of money, for 1 day or 1 year is impractical and impossible. Now this is not to say that there are not guarantees, “Contraire Monfraire.” These guarantees are called insurance policies and home warranties. They are specific programs designed to cover the roofs that leak and the appliances that break. If your budget does not allow for repairs or your situation does not allow for down time, these are the vehicle for you.

May I or my representatives attend the inspection?

Some inspectors may wish to be left alone and that’s ok. It does make it easier to concentrate. I personally recommend that everybody/anybody attend and accompany my inspections. The inspector is human and can overlook things, so the more eyes the better! If the home inspector and termite inspector are two different people, the client now has two trained people in the attic. I think that multiple attendees is an opportunity for me to show off all my tools and skills. This is one-on-one marketing, a 100% target market, real Networking 101! It’s also a super prime chance to gain new realtors. So I say bring the whole darned family, throw a party (I prefer Moscato or Chenin Blanc)!