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by Wally Conway,
Host
of the Home and Garden Show on WOKV
As sure as the spring flows at The Fountain of Youth, home inspecting
provides a stream of knowledge to wash away the fears of home buyers.
But fear may be replaced by frustration if the wrong inspector is
chosen! Some pointers on selecting your next home inspector will
go a long way toward making the process a happy one.
- Be sure to ask how long the inspector has been in the inspection
business. Longevity gives comfort that the company will be
with you in the future as new needs and issues arise.
- How many inspections has the inspector personally performed?
This is important! An inspector may have been in business for
5 years but inspected less than a dozen homes. Your home buying
decision is far too important to be a practice place for a part-time
inspector.
- Confirm that your inspector has experience in homes similar
to the home you are having inspected. All homes have some
systems and features in common, but new home in Eagle Harbor has
risks and issues that differ from an historic beauty in St. Augustine.
Only someone who has walked the walk and crawled the crawl numerous
times in similar homes can sleuth out those important items.
- Did the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) certify
the inspector? In Florida, the business of home inspection
is unregulated. This makes it especially important to verify professional
credentials and experiences before making a selection.
- Ask when the report will be delivered. Often the buying
decision is time critical, you want to be sure you will receive
your completed report in time to read, review, and respond. The
best companies can deliver the report to you right at the home
as the inspection is completed.
- Does the completed report include photographs, including
infrared images? Often, the report will contain descriptions
of damage or defect in locations of the home that only the inspector
was able to access, like roof-tops or crawl spaces. You will want
pictures of these areas to make the location of the damage clear.
It also makes the repair process simpler when a photograph is
available, since there is no confusion for the tradesperson making
the repair. But what of the scope of repair in those damaged areas?
Peace of mind does not come from a regular inspector raising questions,
and then leaving them unanswered. Peace of mind comes from knowing
precisely what the visual symptoms really mean. That level of
confidence can only be reached with the use of an infrared camera
in the hands of an ASHI Certified home inspector. Infrared allows
an ASHI Certified inspector to essentially "see the invisible",
which brings a level of understanding and comfort to the inspection
that cannot be reached with any other tool.
Lastly, be sure to attend the home inspection, watch the process,
and ask lots of questions - the history of your home will unfold
before your very eyes! St. Johns County, as well as the rest of
our beautiful area, is rich in homes and heritage, and your home
inspector can help you to know the past and enjoy the future in
your new home.
Copyright © Florida HomePro, Inc. and Wallace
J. Conway. All rights in all media reserved.
About the Author: Wally Conway is your weekly Host of the Home
and Garden Show on WOKV, and author of the book "Secrets of the Happy
Home Inspector", available at GoHomePro.com.
Wally's expertise and experience has been sought after by HGTV's "House
Detective", DIY Network's "Finders Fixers", the National Association
of REALTORS®, newspapers, and corporations. As a speaker, writer, and instructor,
Wally blends the right amount of up-to-date information with just the right
amount of humor, insight, motivation, and real-world application. Visit WallyConway.com
for more information!
Reproduction of this article: Permission is granted to use this article
in any media provided that the article is reproduced in its entirety as shown
above, with the authors resource box/bio included including links to http://www.gohomepro.com
and http://www.wallyconway.com
as the original publisher.
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