How do I find a good Home/property inspector?

Most people start interviewing home/property inspectors by asking “how much do you charge?” While
this is important, it’s not the most important question you’ll be asking. It’s important to know what
you’ll be getting for this service and understand the qualifications of your inspector, so you can make an
informed decision.

When you hire a home/property Inspector, you are hiring a consultant to work on your behalf.
Experience, qualifications, communication and interpersonal skills vary widely from inspector to
inspector. Some inspectors specialize in volume and low price and may perform up to three or more
inspections a day, then hand their clients a hand-written checklist at the end. At the other end of the
spectrum are the inspectors who are diligently working for their client and documenting their findings.
Obviously, you would expect the cost and value, of inspections performed by the people at these
opposite ends of the spectrum to be quite different.

Here’s is a good place to start. Ask the following questions:

• Ask your agent for recommendations. Agents generally work with good inspectors and you’ll
  want to be sure the best people are working hard on your behalf.
• Besides your license, what credentials and certifications do you have? Look for evidence that the
  inspector considers him/herself a professional and actively purses greater knowledge.
• How many inspections do you perform in a day and how long do you expect to be present at the
  home you are inspecting for me? If an inspector performs three or more inspections a day, don’t
  expect them to hang around and answer questions for you or to include a lot of detail in your
  report.
• Are you comfortable with me attending throughout the inspection? If the inspector discourages
  you from attending the inspection, you should be uncomfortable hiring them. The best
  inspectors are excellent teachers and can teach you a great deal about the house, its systems
  and components through the course of the inspection.
• How long after the inspection should I expect to receive my report? A report handed to you at
  the end of the inspection, simply isn’t going to have much detail. A thorough, detailed report
  can easily take several hours to prepare. And, may depend on whether the inspector is waiting
  for radon and water test results.
• Do you intend to walk the roof? Under what circumstances do you not walk on the roof during
  an inspection? Some inspectors almost never walk on the roof, while others do whenever it’s
  safe to do so.
• How much will my inspection cost? What services are included in the basic fee and what
  services cost extra?