Home Inspections
(often called Property Inspections, Building Inspections or Contractors Inspections) are an extremely important part of the home buying and selling process.

Studies have found that homebuyers spend less time inspecting their future home than they spend grocery shopping for one week. Just as it is important to have a mechanic check out a used car, it is equally important to have a pre-owned home inspected by a professional building inspector.

Home sellers are required to disclose everything that affects value and desirability of their home. A professional home inspection will aid tremendously in that disclosure. Pre-owned homes should be inspected from the sub area through the roof. Only by being armed with a thorough home inspection, can a buyer make an "informed" buying decision.

Quality home inspections will address the following:
Property Site: Includes sidewalks, driveways, fences, site drainage, etc.
Building Exterior: Includes siding, decks, windows, etc.
Roof Covering: Includes flashings, gutters and downspouts and chimney.
Building Interior: Includes appliances, floors, walls, ceilings, doors, fireplaces, garage, etc.
Electrical: Includes the main and sub panels, circuit wiring, etc.
Plumbing: Includes the drainage piping, water supply lines, water heater, etc.
Heating and Air Conditioning: Includes the system and ducting.
Attic Space: Includes the framing and insulation.
Foundations and Crawlspace: Includes ventilation, moisture infiltration, etc.

A home inspection is a visual inspection of all the major components within the home. It should also be an operational inspection of the appliances, heating and air conditioning systems, plus plumbing and electrical systems. A good way to characterize a home inspector is to classify him/her as a general practitioner. If an inspector observes an area of concern, s/he would traditionally recommend hiring a specialist for a more detailed analysis. As an example, if a hillside home is showing signs of settling or movement, the inspector would normally recommend contacting a soils or structural engineer for a more in depth evaluation as to the cause of the movement.

Licensing of Home Inspectors
Home inspectors are not required to be licensed in California. Anyone can claim to be a home inspector; therefore it is very important that you make the right choice.

Selecting a Qualified Home Inspector
"What factors should you consider when selecting a home inspector?"

Conflicts of Interest:
"Does the inspector perform corrective work on the homes he inspects?"
Most home inspection trade organizations absolutely forbid inspectors from performing corrective work on the homes they inspect because of the built in conflicts of interest. Do not ever hire an inspection company that performs corrective work on the same homes they inspect. Doing so can cost you thousands of dollars.

Inspector Credentials:
"How many inspections has he performed? What training did he receive? What is his past construction experience?"
Because there are no licensing requirements for home inspectors in California, anyone can call himself or herself a home inspector. There are a number of home inspector schools that make you a "certified home inspector" after 1-2 weeks of training. Many franchises also offer a big name and fancy reports or brochures but little in the way of training. If you can pay the bucks, you can buy the image or the title. NBI's inspectors are required to perform a minimum of 200 training inspections prior to their first solo inspection.

Ask yourself this: "Who would be a better inspector? One who performs 10 inspections a month, or one who performs 60 to 70 per month?"

Size of Company:
"How many inspectors are employed? How long have you been in business?"
Many home inspectors are one man operations working out of their homes. Others are small independently owned and operated franchises. The questions become..."Are they going to be in business tomorrow? Are they financially strong enough to stand behind their inspections?" NBI has been inspecting homes since 1986.

Click HERE to see a sample of NBI's home inspection report.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright© 1998-2008 National Building Inspectors
Corporate Offices; 1136 Saranap Ave, Walnut Creek, CA 94595
(800) go-NBI-now (800-466-2466) | (925) 935-8968 Fax, All Rights Reserved