When you’ve never been through a home inspection, you really have no idea what to expect. A quality home inspection should be thorough and methodically completed. In order to really understand what your inspector will and will not be inspecting, we would recommend asking them some questions before you hire them to do the inspection.
- Are you a certified home inspector?
- What organization provided your certification?
- Are you a current member of that organization or any home inspection organization?
- How long have you been a professional home inspector?
- Approximately how many home inspections have you performed?
- How many home inspections have you performed on properties that are like the one we are considering?
- How long do you expect your inspection of the property to take?
- Exactly what will you be inspecting?
- Are there any parts of the property that you will not inspect?
- Do you recommend any specialty inspections be done, in addition to the general home inspection (examples of this might be roof, radon, mold, septic systems, stucco, etc.)?
- What kind of report will you provide to us after the inspection?
- How soon will we get the report?
- Can we be present with you when you are doing the inspection?
- Will you answer questions from us during an inspection?
- What will the inspection cost?
- Are there any additional fees for anything?
- Do you carry professional liability insurance?
- Have you ever been sued?
- Could you provide three references for past customers?
- Are there any disclaimers in your report document?
- Is there any legal language in your report document (such as limiting your ability to sue or recover any kind of judgement or limiting your ability to raise complaints as examples)?
- Do you have a contract that we will need to sign? If so, please provide a copy to us so that we might read it in advance of our hiring decision.
Finally, do your own research! Even if the person is coming highly recommended from your realtor or a friend or family member – look into the person’s reputation. It is so easy to do these days! Sites like Angie’s List, Home Advisor and Yelp are full of listings and customer reviews.
Also, if you search for a specific home inspector in Google, often times there will be reviews right in the Google search results.