Good Buy? Bad Buy?

It’s been awhile since we filmed this but I still love this video of our president John LaRocca on Good Buy Bad Buy. It gives a good idea of what we might find on a home inspection. A good watch for a first time home buyer.

 

Hiring a home inspector… how do you know who to choose?

There are many home inspectors out there who are professional, ethical, and well qualified to perform your inspection… yet on the flipside of that coin, there are plenty who are not.

As of this posting, the state of California has not adopted any standards or licensing for home inspectors. So how does a home buyer know who to hire? What qualifications should your home inspctor have?

This is a list of suggested question to ask your potential candidates:

1. Are you certified by a professional inspection association?  (A couple of widely recognized associations are the California Real Estate Inspectors Association [CREIA], and the American Society of Home Inspectors [ASHI]) In order to become certified by one of these organizations the inspector must pass a substantial examination, maintain their certification with continuing educate credits, and also must agree to perform their inspections in accordance with that associations standards of practice and adhere to a code of ethics. This brings a level of professionalism and accountability to their inspections.
2. What is your professional background and construction experience? Each individual home inspector will have their own background, education and experiences. If your inspector happens to be a general contractor, that means that he or she has built a number of homes, and so you are getting an individual who really understands the components of a structure, similarly an engineer, an electrician, a plumber, or someone who has an extensive history in construction will each tend to bring a degree of expertise to their inspection that someone without their background would not.
3. What is your experience as a home inspector?/How many Inspections have you done? Just because an inspector is certified or has construction experience does not necessarily mean that they have experience in performing home inspections. One does not become an expert at a new career overnight. It usually takes some trial and error, and learning on their part. Finding an inspector who has done at least a couple of hundred inspections makes it more likely that you will have someone who has seen most situations and dealt with many different types of properties and problems during their career.
4. Do you have Errors and Ommissions insurance? It goes without saying that all people in all professions are bound to make mistakes here and there. To err is human so it is important to know that he is covered with insurance in the case of an unfortunate situation.

The above 4 items to me are the most important questions to ask when qualifying an inspector. You will also of course use your judgement of their conversation skills, and personality to decide if they are the right fit for you. Once you’ve narrowed down the playing field to just a few prospective inspectors, here are a couple of other questions you might want to ask:

• What does your report look like? Is it computerized? Are there photographs? Can I see a sample?
• When is the report delivered (on-site, next day, or will I have to wait longer than a day?)
• How long does your inspection take?
• Will you go into hard to reach spaces such as crawl beneath the building, go into the attic, or go up onto the roof?
• Can I be present during the inspection? Will you go over the report with me and answer my questions?
• If questions arise after the inspection is complete will you be available to answer those questions for me?

Bottom line, hire competent professionals so that you can be provided with high-quality information and make the most informed desicions during the escrow process… because if you find out about major problems with the property after you’ve already purchased the home, trying to get those items repaired or recieve compensation where you believe it is due can be a lengthy, stressful, and often times unrewarding process.

 

Keep out of reach of children!

This elecrical panel was exposed at an apartment building that we inspected with children running around playing nearby.

There were no covers on the electrical panels and as you can see the wires were completely exposed. Definitely a safety hazard.

Inspection Photo