A graduate of Purdue University, home inspector John Hagan is a home construction and building code expert. He spent years working in the custom home industry before opening Hagan Home Inspections in North Caroline. In this article, Hagan tells us how homebuyers should go about finding a licensed home inspector.
When a home buyer or seller is looking to hire an inspector, he should be sure to look for an inspector who has home-building experience of his own. That is a quick thing to look for and it is really a good way to make sure that you are hiring someone with the right experience and knowledge to properly handle your inspection.
I’m a little biased given my background in the custom home industry. However there is good reason for this opinion. I think that home buyers should look for an inspector who has experience in the construction business because there is no way to know everything about a house unless you have built one from the ground up.
There is no way to know how mechanical systems work, for example, unless you have worked with contractors for several years who install these systems themselves. By getting a first-hand look at that, you can see all the problems that go along with these systems and how they function within a house.
When it comes time to search for inspectors who might meet this requirement, the best way is by referrals. If you know somebody who has used a home inspector or if you know a realtor who has worked with home inspectors over the years, then you should seek those people out and ask if they have recommendations for inspectors in your local area.
After that, the next step is to check out the inspectors’ qualifications. You’ll want to look and make sure that they have both good references and a good background and education.
When I give a potential client references, I fully expect that new client to call those people and check me out. I normally give three or four references to any potential clients. And of those three or four references, I usually give some actual clients as well as at least one realtor who has used me, for her clients, over and over again.
This shows not only that I do good work, but also that I this realtor trusts me with her clients on a repeat basis. This is the kind of thing a person should be looking for when hiring a home inspector.
Once you have gotten the names and numbers of a few references, you should definitely call the people and ask the references whether they liked the service and whether the inspector was on time. Did they feel like they got their money’s worth? Did the inspector find all the things that were wrong with the property? These are typical questions that provide a good insight into how qualified an inspector is before you go through with hiring him or her.
After you move in, if someone finds something else wrong, it doesn’t look good for the inspector. That is why these types of questions are so valuable to any potential home buyer who needs to have a house inspected before moving forward with the purchase.
Finally, all home buyers and sellers looking to hire an inspector need to make sure that the person they hire is licensed. Here in North Carolina, all inspectors must have a home inspection license. If not, then they are legally not allowed to charge a fee for doing a home inspection. So as the person hiring an inspector, it is important to ask about the license and make sure the person you are hiring has one.
To recap, the three things a home buyer or seller needs in order to find the best home inspector possible are:
- to make sure that the person they are hiring has previous experience in the construction or building side of the industry
- to make sure the inspector has good references who are willing to vouch for his qualifications and professionalism
- to make sure that the inspector is licensed in whatever state you currently reside.
Those are three big things that all people should look out for when hiring a home inspector to take a look at their house.
