Choosing an excellent home inspector

  When you’re ready to purchase a home, you’ll need to do some research before choosing a home inspector.  In Minnesota, there is no such thing as licensing for home inspectors.  Anyone can call themself a home inspector, but unless your home inspector is a member of one of two national organizations, the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) or the National Association of Home Inspectors (NAHI), there will be no guarantee that the home inspector even has a minimum amount of knowledge about homes.

ASHI and NAHI both require comprehensive, proctored exams.  They both have a strict code of ethics that inspectors must follow (for instance, ASHI requires that I not perform any work on a home that I have inspected for at least one year).  They both set forth a minimum standard of practice which specifies what to inspect at a home, how to inspect it, and how to report it.  They also have strict requirements for continuing education.

While choosing a home inspector that is certified through ASHI or NAHI is a great start to finding an excellent home inspector, keep in mind that this is just a start.  Before choosing a home inspector, we also recommend reviewing a sample home inspection report.  While there are minimum standards for what a report must include, there is a huge variety in the types of reports offerered.  Some inspectors will give out a handwritten report at the end of the inspection, while others produce a customized report written in narrative format, which includes photos and illustrations to help understand the report (guess which one I offer?).  Examples of both are included below.

We recommend asking your home inspector for testimonials.  An excellent home inspector should be able to provide proof of past customers that were not just satisfied, but delighted with their services.  Some home inspectors will post this information on their web site, while others might keep a list that they can fax out. 

While this is certainly not an all-inclusive list, this will at least give a starting point for choosing an excellent home inspector.  One important point to make; the best home inspectors will be proud of the service they offer, and will charge accordingly.  I get many phone calls from customers asking only what I charge for a home inspection.  How much does a hamburger cost?  I think they cost 39 cents at White Castle, but it won’t be the same thing you’ll get from a sit-down restaurant.  Without any type of standards or licensing for home inspectors, there is a wide range in prices for home inspections.  While I might be a little biased (ha ha), I would strongly recommend using price as a final option for choosing a home inspector.  The price of a home inspection is a drop in the bucket compared to the price of a home, and getting a high quality home inspection is important.

I just realized, I’m presuming that everyone gets a home inspection.  How important is a home inspection?  Next week, I’ll talk about some defects I’ve found while inspecting new construction homes and condos; these are properties that some people choose  not have inspected.  I’ll assume that everyone gets old houses inspected.

Reuben Saltzman, Structure Tech Home Inspections – Email – Website