What to look for in a home inspector?

Experience

The International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI) is the largest association of home inspectors in the world. They provide training and certification of qualified home inspectors. At a minimum, your home inspector should be a certified member of InterNACHI or another association.

The State of Michigan does not regulate “home inspectors.” This means just about anyone can say they are a home inspector and start doing inspections. Take this as your buyer beware and investigate your home inspector’s credentials before hiring them. While the State of Michigan does not regulate “home inspectors”, they do regulate “building inspectors.” These are the code inspectors that inspect new construction and remodeling. Most “home inspectors” do not have this qualification.

Inspections Etc inspectors are InterNACHI and are licensed Building Inspectors through the State of Michigan. Additionally, they are also licensed builders and have more than 20 combined years of construction and inspection experience. This ensures a thorough and detailed inspection.

Availability

Time is of the essence especially during this real estate boom. Offers are being submitted within hours of the home hitting the market. Your home inspector must be able to schedule the inspection and provide the report promptly. With two inspectors, Inspections Etc has the flexibility to schedule the inspection within a few days. The report is then submitted within 24 hours – sometimes even the same day!

Cost

Depending on the size and scope of the inspection, typical inspection fees range somewhere between $250 and $800. Your home inspection is not something to bargain hunt for. A savings of a few hundred dollars for the inspections could end up costing you thousands down the road. Ultimately, you get what you pay for.

Additional Inspections

In the situations when additional inspections (well, septic, environmental, etc) are required, most folks like to find one inspector that can do it all. Why wouldn’t you? One call for it all. While one stop shops are convenient, there is simply no way for an inspector to be a “pro” at each type of inspection. At Inspections Etc, we like to specialize in what we know best – the structure. We advise and guide our clients to industry professionals who specialize in that particular niche. While this business model, involves a few extra phone calls, we found that it yields much better inspection results.