Subject: How to Hire a Home
Inspector
We all know home inspection is important. However, the
inspection is only as good
as the inspector. Here are some questions that should be asked
before hiring an
inspector and every inspector should be prepared to answer!
-What standards of practice does the inspector
follow?
-How
much experience do you have as a home inspector? What is
your construction-related experience?
-Are
you specifically qualified to do residential inspections?
-Does
your company offer to make repairs or improvements based
on the inspection? (Careful! A "yes" answer here may
indicate a conflict of
interest.)
-How
long will the inspection take? (This should
depend on the size of the home. An
average residential inspection should
take two to three hours.)
-What
is included in the inspection specifically?
(Take note of what isnt
included, too.)
-How
much will the inspection cost? (The
cheapest inspection is not necessarily
the best!)
-Will
you supply a written report? (If not, look elsewhere.)
-Do
you recommend that the client attend the inspection? (This should
be another yes answer. The whole point is learning as much
as you can about your property, right?)
-Do
you take classes and participate in other continuing learning
programs to make sure your
expertise is up to date?
Also, ask for references and check them. The best way to
learn about what an inspector
will do for a customer is to talk to one or more of
them.
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