Questions to ask before Selecting a Home Inspection Service
It is best to not avoid a home’s inspection before buying or selling it. But it is also not prudent to hire home inspectors before asking any questions about the company’s work and services. Only the right professionals can offer efficient and cost-effective services. In order to hire one, you need to ask them the right questions.
Consider asking these questions before selecting a home inspection service.
What is Included in Your Home Inspection Service?
Most Home Inspection Services consist of only general assessments of the properties. Such inspections can include a review of the structure or the foundation along with a survey of the electrical connections, plumbing, and the appliances. These types of half-baked inspections are not really useful. When it comes to home inspections, the gold is in the details. So, always opt for detailed service plans only.
Be proactive about safeguarding your investment and ask about the kind of services the home inspection company offers. The Average Home Inspection Cost can be in several hundred dollars. So, ensure that you are at least getting a thorough scrutiny of your property in return.
For instance, inspections for new homes should, more or less, include –
- Model visit and/or site selection
- A review of the builder’s plan, material, and appliance selections
- Pre-pour observations (at 2 levels) to include assessments of footing, plumbing, post-tension rods, vapor-barrier, and the structural plan’s verification
- Review of the framework, plumbing, AC ductwork, electrical connections, and insulation
- Final inspection
General assessments can’t cover such detailed reviews of buildings. Home Inspection Services cannot be clubbed together in one neat package for all types of requirements – be it assessment of new homes, preexisting properties, or a final walk-through of buildings.
Choose a company that offers different kinds of services with a list of inspection checkpoints clearly defined for their clients to review. They must also cater to different inspection requirements of builders, real estate agents, and property buyers and sellers.
Do you offer services for both commercial and residential properties?
Residential and commercial properties have differences. So, the inspection for both kinds of properties cannot be clubbed together. Ensure that the service you hire offers building inspections as per your requirements – be it for residential or commercial properties.
Who Performs Home Inspections?
This is a very important question to ask before hiring a home inspection company. Most companies employ general contractors or code inspectors for the job. But these professionals are not qualified to perform detailed home inspections.
Then there are companies that employ only engineers for the inspection work. Engineers are qualified to perform thorough inspections. They undergo rigorous training on the job to perform high quality building inspections.
The differences between a home inspection performed by an engineer inspector and general contractor will be that of the overall quality and thoroughness. You will also get additional benefits in the form of solutions to improve the structural and other problems in your house when you choose the former.
So, definitely remember to ask this question before finalizing a home inspection company.
What do you charge for home inspections?
Of course, it is not wise to hire any company before inquiring about the cost of their services. So, ensure that you ask the company to provide you with a definite number. A potential red flag can be the hesitation of the company to reveal the upfront cost of their services. So, be wary of hiring such home inspection companies.
The Average Home Inspection Cost can be in hundreds of dollars and upwards. But the real question to consider is what you are getting in that price in terms of the services. The cost of the services must be comparable to the benefits you are getting from it.
Does it solve your problem that you hoped to solve with a home inspection?
Is the cost justified with the kind of detailed (or lack thereof) services you are getting?
Does the quality of the service in sync with its cost?
What is the BBB rating of your company?
Better Business Bureau ratings are highly-respected and a testament to the quality of work offered by companies. So, ensure that you ask this question. Settle for nothing less than a stellar rating of A+.
