Darren Dunner
What is a Home Inspection
The real estate industry is a multi-billion dollar sector
in the United States. There are many players in each real
estate transaction with home inspectors being as important
as the real estate closing itself.
Families move, on the average, once every five to seven
years. Also, just under 70% of all homes bought and sold
in the United States are evaluated by a home inspector.
Given these two statistics, the home inspection industry is
a major player in most real estate transactions. Home
Inspection Defined A home inspection is a non-invasive
visual examination of specific components in a residential
property. The general components observed or evaluated are
the structure, mechanical systems, and the lot or grounds.
A home inspection is not a code inspection; they can be
very different.
Many states now require home inspectors to be licensed and
insured. Licensed home inspectors are considered
professionals. So, before selecting a home inspector, ask
for their credentials and find out whether your state
licenses home inspectors. The licensing state will
generally require that the home inspector have a certain
number of classroom hours (some actually take
correspondence), attend a specified number of "dead
inspection", attend a certain number of "live inspections",
and pass a national test. In many states, after the test
has been passed but before the home inspector performs a
home inspection on residential property for resale, the
home inspector must obtain Errors and Omissions and General
Liability insurances.
States licensing home inspectors will typically have
"Standards of Practice" or a "Code of Ethics" that the
inspectors must follow. The Standards typically outline
the minimum you can expect from a home inspector or what
can and cannot be expected in a home inspection. For
example, home inspections are generally not technically
exhausted. That is, home inspectors do not necessarily
inspect the cause of certain problems; they merely report
that there appears to be an issue and recommend further
evaluation.
Home inspections may contain items greater than the typical
Standards but they should never contain less. For example
an HVAC technician who is now performing home inspection
may offer a very thorough evaluation of your heating and
cooling system for an additional fee. This is perfectly
fine as the home inspector can always do more than the
Standards of Practice. How Much Will A Typical Home
Inspection Cost? The cost of a home inspection varies
widely by location of the property, size of the buildings
inspected, and the depth of the inspection. As a general
statement, home inspectors must inspect certain systems in
the home. They must also describe certain features of the
home as well. For instance, saying that the home has a
roof is no more information than most of us can gather on
our own. But saying that the dwelling has an asphalt
shingled roof with OSB sheathing gives us a considerable
amount of additional information.
With that said and at the time of this writing, Baton Rouge
home inspections run between $250 and $400 per inspection
for a house under 2,500 square feet. New Orleans home
inspections and Lafayette home inspections run roughly in
the same range.
This price range may appear wide but certain inspectors
offer a "bare bones inspection" that is relatively cheap
while others offer a few more bells and whistles for a
slightly higher price. Lower priced home inspections may
be as equally thorough as a higher priced inspection but
this is not always the case. Do keep in mind that a higher
price does not necessarily mean less value in the home
inspection business. The cliché, "You get what you pay
for" definitely holds true when dealing with home
inspections. What Can I Expect From My Home Inspector? Home
inspectors should provide a thorough evaluation of your
home as defined above. After inspecting your home, home
inspectors will give you a home inspection report. These
reports will generally outline each area that the home
inspector reviewed and, more importantly, those that he did
not.
Limitations are outlined in the home inspection report.
Limitations of your home inspection are those items that
prevented a thorough inspection. Home inspectors do not
move furniture or rugs and many do not remove items such as
child proof receptacle covers. Given that a home
inspection is a visual examination, furniture or grass
around the foundation can really obscure the inspector's
view.
A typical home inspection report will contain a detail
section as well as a summary page or pages. Many useful
tips may be buried within the text of the home inspection
report. It is always good to take some time to sit down
and review the whole report. Some reports may be in excess
of 30 pages. Don't let this alarm you! Home inspection
reports typically will explain the deficiencies found in
your home as well as offer some very useful tips. Some
inspection reports can be viewed as a mini homeowners …
owner's manual.
Most home inspectors pay for a report template from third
parties. This template may be either a paper template that
is completed by hand or a computerized template that is
completed on the computer. There are advantages to each
type of report, most of which deal with the speed that the
client receives the home inspection report. The typical
turnaround time for a home inspection report may be as
quick as the inspection is complete to as long as 24 hours
or more out. This is a question that you should ask your
inspector when you are requesting your home inspection.
Must I Be at the Home Inspection Home inspectors typically
like their clients to be at the inspection. They do
realize that many times this is not possible. During a
typical inspection, the client, the seller's real estate
agent, and the client's real estate agent will attend the
home inspection. It is wise for the client to take the
time during the home inspection to walk around the house
and make a list of questions that they would like to ask
the home inspector. Making a list and asking the questions
at the end of the inspection is most always preferable to
asking individual questions as they come to mind. The more
the client interrupts the home inspector, the more likely
the home inspector is to overlook something. That is not
necessarily a deficiency in the home inspector but a
quality of being human. The home inspector is
concentrating on doing a good job for the client but the
more interruptions, the more likely an error will occur.
Home inspectors generally welcome questions from the client
but most like them asked all at once at the end of the
inspection. Don't be afraid to ask but also remember that
the inspector is not necessarily going to tell you what you
want to hear. You are paying them for their unbiased point
of view. They are trying their best to provide you with
quality information about the current visible condition of
your new home so that you will not be unpleasantly
surprised in the future.
Once the home inspection is complete, the home inspector
will generally review the findings with the client. Many
call this their "post inspection interview" and there is no
better place to do this than on site. The client can walk
around with the home inspector and see the potential issues
first hand. This is also the perfect opportunity for the
client to ask the inspector about the issues on their list.
When Do I Pay for the Home Inspection The home inspection
fee is typically paid to the inspector before the
inspection report is delivered. Many inspectors prefer to
have the money in hand before they begin the inspection
process while others may wait until the report is prepared
and ready to be delivered. This is a point that will come
up so the client can ask the home inspector before the
inspection at what point they require payment.
If the client is unable to make the inspection, it is okay
to send payment with the realtor or another representative.
The client should keep in mind that the home inspector may
or may not discuss their findings with the agent. There
is confidentiality between the client and the home
inspector. The client should designate who can receive the
home inspection information other than themselves.
Good Luck!
This should give you an idea of what to expect from a home
inspector and how the inspection process will be handled.
Each home inspector is different and may use somewhat
different techniques. Good luck and best wishes with your
home inspection!
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Darren Dunner writer for http://www.arbucklellc.com .
Arbuckle LLC has been providing quality home inspection and
quality service.
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