Home Inspection Services - How Do They Compare

A question for many homebuyers and sellers about home inspection services - how do they compare to each other - can be answered by doing a little homework.  As with most services, you will get what you pay for.  Whether you are buying, selling, or building a home, home inspectors are important.  Finding the least expensive one is easy enough, but it could have long term negative consequences. 

A home inspection is a limited inspection of the home.  The home inspector does not crawl into every nook and cranny of the house looking for minor defects.  The inspector looks at major systems and structures in the home like the roof, basement, plumbing, electrical systems, and heating and cooling systems.  What the home inspector is looking for is signs of improper building practices, code violations, fire and safety issues, and areas that need general maintenance or might need extensive repair work.  The inspector then puts the findings into a report, but does not make a recommendation. 

Home inspectors are not property appraisers.  They do not look at or determine the value of the home or the property.  Instead, they are looking for current and future problems that might cause a safety issue or result in a significant unexpected expense for the homebuyer.  </P> <P>With home inspection services - how do they compare is based mostly on the experience and training of the inspector.  Home inspectors are regulated as a profession is most states and municipalities.  They are also represented by a professional organization that provides continuing education and training to its members.  The best home inspectors have learned what to look for through years of experience combined with training.

Finding someone to do a home inspection can be as simple as calling your real estate agent.  They usually have a list of names of inspectors who they have worked with in the past successfully.  If you are a homebuyer, you want to hire your own inspector for your own protection.  The seller&#39;s inspector wants the home to sell, and might sugar coat otherwise serious problems in the report.  Even your own inspector might make the home look better than it is.  An inspector that causes real estate deals to fall through is an inspector that will not be recommended by too many agents.

So, how do you find one that you can trust?  As with all services, you start with your friends and neighbors.  Everybody seems to know somebody in the real estate profession.  Through your personal contacts, you are bound to find the name of someone who will look at a home and give you an honest assessment as to its condition. 

Home inspectors are not just used by buyers and sellers.  People who are building a home also need home inspectors to look at the home and identify possible code violations before they become too difficult to fix.  Having your home inspected while it is being built will likely be required by the company that is financing the construction of the home. 

With home inspection services - how do they compare is also based on their level of professionalism.  That is why it is so important to schedule a meeting with an inspector before hiring one.  You can get a good feel of someone's professionalism by simply talking to them and asking questions.  Look for someone who comes across as knowledgeable and honest.  If you are buying a home, you need your inspector to be on your side.  Make sure payment arrangements for the inspection are separate from the closing costs.  If payment for the inspection is tied to the acceptance of the contract, then you can be assured that the report will not say anything that might be detrimental to the sale of the home.