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Phone: (303) 840-2477 SELECTING A HOME INSPECTOR When selecting a home inspector, price can be useful to eliminate the really cheap and really expensive home inspectors. If you find certain companies much cheaper or much more expensive than the industry standard, it's because they are selling a different service. The cheap companies are either doing less or have inferior credentials (experience, training, education, equipment). The much more expensive companies may be doing more than you really need, i.e. extra long inspections with unnecessary bells and whistles. So, price can be used to weed out the cheap inspections and gold plated inspections. People get home inspections to reduce their risk. Unfortunately for the consumer, new and or under experienced home inspectors typically attract business with lower prices. It is important to ask yourself this question… "Do you really want to go bargain hunting for the Inspector who will do the job for the least amount of money?" -or- "Is it important to hire the most qualified?" Of course one should always try to be budget conscious, but when hiring a Home Inspector, you should always search for the most qualified and most experienced person you can find. What is a $25 or $50 difference in price compared to your potential exposure if, due to inexperience, your "low budget" inspector overlooks an expensive defect?
So, what ARE the factors to consider when selecting a home inspector? Credentials - You want to be sure your home inspector knows what he is doing, so check his credentials. There are numerous professional home inspection organizations. But only two have stringent standards (verified testing and experience). They are National Association of Home Inspectors (NAHI), and American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI). This information will help to give you insight into the background, and depth of industry involvement of the Inspector you plan to hire. Experience - It is not only important that your home inspector knows what he is doing but also that he has enough experience doing it that he can make an informed decision and give valuable advice. Throughout the country, the average home inspector does about 100 - 260 inspections a year. Many of the cheap home inspectors are new to the occupation; some are part timers. Some have little or no experience. Some buy franchises and claim experience gained by others in the franchise in other cities. Almost all of the cheap home inspection companies are one-man operations. These are people who decided they wanted to be home inspectors. They didn't go through any application process, selection process or specialized training process. Only they know what their qualifications are. Also, be wary of claims of experience. Home inspectors will make claims like 35 years experience. Thirty-five years ago, there were only a handful of professional inspectors in the whole country. Building or repairing homes is related experience but not experience as a home inspector. Be Sure To Obtain A Written Report Be sure that your Home Inspector provides a detailed written report, not a hand written checklist with stock responses that is given to you at the end of the inspection. A checklist can be difficult to interpret and to read, and may be void of many of the details and advice you need. A step up from this is a computer-generated report, which offers a combination of the checklist and a narrative reporting formats, and which includes specific comments to each home. An Inspection Report should encompass three basic areas: Overview – A detailed picture of the house on the day of the inspection, itemizing all the major components and their condition. Maintenance Items – A listing of items in need of normal maintenance or attention. This list will allow you to be pro-active in your approach to home maintenance, and hopefully, minimize your risk of being blind-sided by an unexpected expense you could have been saving for, if you had known about it. Major Repair Items – This is any defect with the potential to present a significant expense to you, in the near term. These items should be clearly identified, with estimated repair/replacement costs (if possible). The Inspection and Report should give you the information that you, as the buyer, need to make an informed decision about your new purchase
Phone: (303) 840-2477 web site: www.coloradoinspections.com |
