HOW TO CHOOSE AN INSPECTOR

Choosing The Right Home Inspector Should Not Be a Haphazard Decision.

It's amazing that people pay "hundreds of thousands of dollars" for a home; and then try to get a cheap inspection!  If you are a responsible home buyer,  You need to hire a responsible inspector. Otherwise, you could be making a very serious mistake.

The inspector which you are hiring;  you are also entrusting him to provide you with as much information on the largest investment you may ever make. 

Professional inspections involve a lot of work and experience.

Inspectors that are just starting out usually charge far below what other experienced inspectors charge.

The State of Colorado does NOT have any requirements or regulations on home inspectors. This can allow anyone to open a home inspection business with little or no training or experience.

This is why you will find different prices for home inspections. As a rule, the cheep inspections are inexperienced and unqualified inspectors. They try to do 5 or 6 inspections a day. However, when a quality home inspection takes 3 hours, you know those who do 5 inspections a day are not doing a complete inspection. Can you afford to take that chance?

Think About it.

 A Smart Car and a Cadillac are both cars. You can't buy a Cadillac for the price of a Smart Car. Nor can you expect a Smart Car to perform like a Cadillac. Same is true with Inspectors

To help with the problem of no regulations, There are associations for home inspectors to join. These associations are designed to govern the inspection business. However, it is not a requirement to belong to any inspector association.

This is why it is important to seek an inspector that belongs to an association.

There are three main home inspection associations to choose from. ASHI, NAHI and NACHI.

I have chosen to belong to NACHI, now InterNachi, because they require pre-certification of all their members. They also have a more strict Standards of Practice (SOP).

Choosing an inspector that belongs to one of these associations will greatly help decrease the possibility of getting a poor inspection.

The Product You Receive - The Report

Besides a good inspection, you should receive a GOOD report. This is your documentation of the condition of the house. This report should tell you of the repairs that are needed and other general information that is useful to the homeowner such as maintenance.

The quality of the report you receive is very important. You need a report that is easy to understand. Each defect should be clearly defined with pictures of the important defects so you know exactly what the problem is.

Unfortunately, not all inspector's reports are alike.

There are different reporting methods. Verbal, Checklist, and Narrative.  

Some inspectors use only one of these types, where others may use a combination of these.

Verbal reports, the inspector tells you about the defects. You will have to take notes to remember what has been said.

Checklist reports are when you receive a list of defects the inspector looked for. He then checks off only the defects and present this as a report. 

Narrative gives a written explanation of the defects the inspector found but usually doesn't tell you what all the items he looked for. It is also good to know what is right about the house and not just the defects. Narrative reports are usually more expensive then Verbal and Checklist. They often include photos of the defect along with their explanation.

Inspectors Should Be The Only Unbiased Party During The Purchase Process.    Why? 

Everyone else involved in the transaction gets paid only if the property closes.

The inspector gets paid whether or not the buyer decides to buy the home. 

If inspectors also got paid at closing, they too, would be motivated for the sale to go through.

That is why you should choose a home inspector who is totally independent; and who has no allegiance to any real estate agency.