How to Hire a Home Inspector?

Buying a home is already hectic; we understand the huff and puff of investing in a property. But, another challenging phase awaits you right after you have found a property that meets your needs: finding a great home inspector. Just like you can’t compromise on the curb appeal of your home, you can also not compromise on the home inspector who will check the ins and outs of your property. They’re literally your saviors against the costly surprises coming your way. These experts assess your potential home’s condition, including the mechanical, electrical, and façade systems. Once the home inspection in Jacksonville, FL, is completed, they will provide you with a report on the issues that were found to help you renegotiate the asking price and other options.

This blog will guide you through how to hire a home inspector, what questions you can ask, and what items you need to consider during the process.

Home Inspector Qualifications

With every state in the United States comes different requirements for home inspectors that they must meet to perform inspections. For instance, in Florida, home inspectors must complete a 120-hour Florida-approved home inspection course, and the state must license them. To get licensed, they must fulfill the education requirements, pass the exam, and maintain continuing education credits. Now, to learn more about the requirements for your specific state, you can reference the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors’ licensing and certification database.

When the home inspector in Jacksonville, FL, is conducting the inspection, you can also reference the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) Standard of Practice and Code of Ethics. This will help you ensure that all the respective protocols are followed and the inspector meets your expectations.

Remember: This only applies if the inspector is a member of ASHI (it’d be a cherry on top if they’re ). So, you need to check accordingly, or you can simply ask them about this.

Moreover, home inspectors must be up-to-date on the industry’s needs and their credentials. They must be continuing training and their education as needed. This is why you must ask your potential home inspectors about what they’re recently getting training for.

Services Performed by Home Inspectors

Usually, when you hire a home inspector, you can expect them to conduct a standard home inspection. This includes assessing essential items like roofing, electrical, plumbing, and more. But, this is just the basics of home inspections. At times, you might want to add extra services that the home inspectors offer, like:

•         Mold assessment
•         Lead-based paint inspection
•         Asbestos inspection
•         Radon inspection
•         Pest Inspection
•         Soil analysis
•         Chimney inspection
•         Underground oil tank inspection
•         Pool inspection
•         Professional HVAC inspection
•         Professional roof inspection
•         Professional electrical inspection
•         Professional water systems and plumbing inspection
•         Professional sewer systems inspection
•         Professional foundation inspection

How to Hire a Qualified Home Inspector?

When choosing a home inspector in Jacksonville, FL, there are plenty of fish in the pond, and many of them offer the exact services on the paper. But, you need to find an inspector who is worth every penny for the job. For that, you need to interview them using the questions and the criteria beforehand. Make sure to follow this before hiring an inspector.

Questions to Ask a Home Inspector

1.   Do you hold the necessary license to work as a home inspector?
2.   Are you insured, including having errors and omissions coverage?
3.   What are your qualifications as a home inspector?
4.   Is your training current and up-to-date?
5.   Do you work as a home inspector full-time?
6.   How far in advance should I book an inspection?
7.   How long does an inspection usually take?
8.   What details are covered in your inspection report?
9.   When can I expect to receive the inspection report after the inspection?
10.   Will your inspection report include photographs?
11.   May I see a sample of your inspection report?
12.   Can you provide me with three references?

Choosing the Right Home Inspector

You only hire a few home inspectors in your life, but the ones you hire have the greatest impact on your home purchase, maintenance, and sale. So, to make the process and results all worth it, you can use the following tips to hire the right home inspector for conducting home inspections in Jacksonville, FL:

Obtain past home inspection reports

The first thing you need to ask the inspector for is the past inspection or sample report. This is a crucial step in giving you an idea of what your report will look like. When reviewing, ensure that the report has enough details and images that meet your needs and your expectations.

Watch out for red flags

Remember that you can attend a home inspection; it is your right. If any inspector states otherwise, then that’s enough of a reason to consider them a red flag, and it’s time to search for a different inspection. Besides this, if the inspector offers to make repairs or tells you, “You can get the repairs done from this contractor,” then uh-oh, red flag, again. It is a major sign of conflict of interest and most likely a biased inspection (we don’t want that).

Request references and read reviews

You need to know their past clients’ experience because yours will be quite similar. You can request them for reviews from past clients, or you can do your own homework by reading online reviews. You need to ensure that the inspector you hire is reliable and credible.

Receive three pricing quotes

Ideally, you shall ask for pricing quotes from three different home inspectors before you finalize your decision to hire one. Once you have the quotes from inspectors, you can compare them and decide on one. The price for a home inspection usually ranges from $200 to $500.

Conclusion

Hiring a home inspector surely seems like a hassle at first, but once you have the right inspector to meet your needs, you will be glad that you did all this. The home inspection is the backbone of your home purchase, and a home inspector plays a similar role in the home inspection. So, you know that if you’re putting this much effort into hiring a reliable home inspector in Jacksonville, FL, that’s only to secure the money on line. You don’t want to step into a property that is already flooding with issues – it’s unbearable, even if it is the cheapest. So, it’s better to watch your steps already. Make sure that you hire a home inspector who is qualified, licensed, insured, experienced, and professional. All of these traits make them a real asset for your home-buying process.

If you want to learn more about home inspections and home inspectors, you can always contact Pro-Spect Inspection Service. We’re always here to answer your queries and make your home-buying process as hassle-free as possible.