See What People Have Been Asking Us About Home Inspections

When hiring a home inspector, you hire an advocate to protect your interests by giving their professional opinion on the home’s condition. With that in mind, making sure that you’re hiring an inspector with knowledge, training and experience mean not shopping for one by price alone. Training, certifications, and continuing education are not free to inspectors, and therefore, their expertise isn’t going to be free either. On the other hand, the inspector who charges the most is not necessarily the best.

You should be able to get a firm price based on the square footage of the home for a COMPLETE inspection before the inspection. You should not be charged extra for your inspector to walk your roof or enter your crawl space (if it can be done safely). Yet some companies do (if they provide that service at all). Also, be wary of inspectors that will not quote a price until they see the home or those who charge extra based on the age of the home. Click on the top tab "Services" to see our fees.

Since there are no national or state standards for Florida home inspectors, check which associations they belong to (if any). Some associations can be joined by simply paying a fee and are just listed to impress you. Others require varying levels of testing, experience, and continuing education. The professional associations, such as ASHI (American Society of Home Inspectors), require that the inspector pass a rigorous trade and ethics exam, perform at least 250 inspections and achieve a high level of proficiency in report writing. Until an inspector has met these requirements, he may only call himself "candidate" or "associate." Once all requirements have been met, he has achieved "Certified Member" status and must then obtain at least 30 hours of continuing education annually. I am a Certified Member of ASHI. Please click on the "About" tab to see a complete listing of my credentials.

Real estate agents and other professionals often recommend which home inspector to hire. However, a recommendation does not necessarily guarantee that their choice is the best choice for you. Make your own decision based on your research.

After an inspection, you will receive a report on the inspector's findings. Again, inspectors are going to vary widely. Report styles can range from handwritten to checklists to jargon-filled narratives. They can provide you with little or no information or give you such a technically laden, verbose report that you can't figure out what point the inspector is trying to make. The report should be clear and concise. Photos indicating any problems should be a part of any comprehensive report.

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