WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A HOME INSPECTION?
When you are looking at a prospective home, you are not seeing everything. A home might look perfectly fine to the naked, untrained eye, but if that was all that you went by, you could end up with a home that needs expensive repairs or with major appliances that will fail in the matter of a few years. To avoid this, many homeowners rely on a professional home inspector to find all those problems before the sale goes through.
Of course, since the job takes a lot of time and requires skills and training, home inspections aren’t cheap, so some home-buyers aren’t convinced of the necessity of having a home inspected, or they might feel that they have a relative or a friend who is a contractor that could do the inspection for them, but is this going to be your best choice?
PROFESSIONAL VS. AMATEUR
In cases like this, it is important to understand the difference between a professional, highly trained inspector and a relative who is “really handy”. While you might know someone that seems to have the ability to fix anything that is broken in your home, this doesn’t mean that he has a good understanding of what could cause serious problems in a home. A good inspector will know what tests to take to make sure that everything is up to par. He will also be aware of common issues with homes in the area and where you can find signs that it is going to be an issue with the home you are looking at.
THE RIGHT TOOLS
To go along with the knowledge that a professional home inspector has, he also has the tools to test for those issues. These are expensive, sensitive equipment that a home inspector will use to get a full picture of your home and any issues that might be lurking. Some inspectors are equipped to test for air quality issues, radon, mold, improper insulation and electrical issues just to mention a few. With a wide array of tools, these inspectors will be able to find errors that couldn’t otherwise be found.
THE RIGHT TRAINING
Of course, all those tools would be useless unless there is a trained hand using them. This is why a good inspector takes the time to get training and education to make him the best at what he does. There are some major players out there when it comes to home inspector training, such as InterNACHI and ASHI which are the biggest home inspector associations in the world. The difference between a trained and untrained home inspector will quickly become obvious. Not only will a trained inspector be more knowledgeable, but he will also follow a stricter code of conduct.
THE RIGHT EXPERIENCE
There is no shortcut to experience, so the years that your home inspector has been operating will make a big difference in the accuracy and thoroughness of the report you receive. While a home inspector won’t be moving large furniture to find issues, they might be able to spot something that is out of place as soon as they step into a room. An experienced home inspector is much less likely to miss something since he has seen it many times before.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Naturally, you can’t expect your home inspector to find every little thing that could go wrong with your home in the near future, but after a thorough inspection, you will have a much better idea of what to expect. Getting your home inspected by a trained, experienced professional with all the right tools is an investment that you won’t regret. They can save you thousands of dollars by warning you of a potential money pit, and they can give you peace of mind that the home you are about to buy is an investment that you will be proud to own.
You may also want to read: Why Are There So Many Issues In My Inspection Report? and How To Get Your Home Ready For The Buyer’s Home Inspector