A home inspector will play a large role in your decision whether to purchase a property or not. You need to be confident of the person doing your home inspection.
Here are some things to think about and some questions to ask when you talk to the potential home inspector.
BEFORE YOU CALL THE HOME INSPECTOR
Remember, you are interviewing them, they’re not interviewing you. They may want to know some information about the home before you get to ask your questions. You may get to that, but they have to earn the right to give you a price first.
If an inspector is pushy about getting information from you first, he doesn’t have a customer first mentality. Move on.
GENERAL QUESTIONS
- Have long have you been inspecting homes?
- How long have you had your inspection license?
- Are you a member of any home inspection associations? [ASHI, American Society of Home Inspectors, and InterNACHI, International Association of Certified Home Inspectors, are the two most popular national associations]
- Can I attend the inspection with you? If they say “no,” move on. Even if you can’t attend, you want transparency.
- Can I ask questions? Of course you can, but you want to hear how receptive he is.
- What does your report include?
- Do you take a lot of pictures? This is less of a question and more of expressing an expectation.
- When will I get a copy of the report?
- Can I call you if I have any questions after I get the report?
PRICE QUESTIONS
If you are comfortable with the information you learned so far, then ask about price. If not, tell them you are getting prices and will get back to them.
Don’t ask them how much a home inspection costs straight out. There is not a one price fits all.
- Say, “The house we’re looking at has ___ bedrooms, ___ baths, has a ____ foundation, is ___ years old, and has ___ total square feet. Can you tell me how much an inspection would cost?”
SCHEDULE QUESTIONS
- Would you be able to do the inspection (Monday morning, Tuesday afternoon, etc.)?
Watch the short video of Tom Daigle explaining what to expect from Daigle Inspection by clicking the link to the right →
ABOUT TOM DAIGLE
Tom started building homes over thirty years ago, and he’s been a licensed home inspector with the Texas Real Estate Association for over five years now. He is a member of ASHI, American Society of Home Inspectors. Tom highly encourages buyers to attend the inspection, where they can ask questions as they go along or afterwards when they go over the report. Buyers will leave with a copy of the report if they attend the inspection. Otherwise, it will be emailed to them the day the inspection is completed. Tom is available to answer questions before, during, and after the inspection report.
