Buying a home is already a very stressful process, and finding a great home inspector in Jacksonville, FL, makes it more stressful. But if you want to ensure that your home’s condition is up to the mark, there’s no way that you’re thinking about skipping this step. We’re talking about hiring an inspector.
A home inspector is a very important asset in assessing your potential home’s real condition and evaluating it from the inside out. These professionals are well-versed in conducting home inspections with utmost precision. Whether it be mechanical, electrical, structural, or façade systems, they have the expertise to cover it all. But, to have all of this promised to you, you need to ensure that the professional you’re hiring knows what they’re doing. And in a pond with so many fishes, finding your goldfish might be quite challenging. But don’t worry, we have got you covered.
This blog post will walk you through how to hire a professional inspector, jotting down the important questions you can ask and other factors that you need to consider during the process.
Home Inspector Qualifications
Every state in the United States have different requirements that a home inspector needs to meet in order to become licensed and perform services. In Florida, the inspector must complete a 120 hour pre-licensing course, obtain a liability insurance, pass a state licensing exam and maintain and renew the license.
Furthermore, when the inspector is performing the inspection it is better to refer to American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) Standard of Practice and Code of Ethics. This will help you in ensuring that the professional you hired is following the set protocols and is meeting the expectation. However, this is only applicable if your hired inspector is a member of ASHI, and to be 100% sure, you may check accordingly.
Make sure the certified home inspector in Jacksonville, FL has kept their credentials updated with continuing education and relevant training. You can also ask your inspector about their training experiences and what their training sessions covered.
It is highly likely that the inspectors have a relative affiliation with certain organizations, which helps them to build their authority within the field further. Most of the time, the inspectors are affiliated with the ASHI and InterNACHI. If your prospective inspector has any of such affiliation then consider it as a cherry on top.
Services Performed By Home Inspectors
A standard home inspection includes assessing different essential items. This might include HVAC, roofing, electrical, plumbing, etc. These are just the basic services that the inspector provides. Whereas, depending on the type of home you’re buying, you might want to consider additional services, such as:
- Lead-based paint inspection
- Mold assessment
- Asbestos inspection
- Radon inspection
- Soil analysis
- Pest inspection
- Chimney inspection
- Underground tank inspection
- Pool inspection
- Professional HVAC inspection
- Professional electrical inspection
- Professional sewer or septic system inspection
- Professional plumbing and water systems inspection
- Professional structural and foundation inspection
How To Hire A Qualified Home Inspector?
As we said before, there will be many options for you when you are hiring a certified home inspector in Jacksonville. Now, finding the top-tier inspector might not seem like a child’s play then. You need to find one who provides a detailed and complete home inspection. You can conduct an interview and ask them different questions that can highlight their expertise. Here are some of the questions to make the interview process easier for you:
- Do you have insurance, including omissions and errors insurance?
- Are you a licensed inspector?
- What home inspector qualifications do you have?
- Are you updated with your training?
- Do you work as a full-time home inspector?
- Do I need to schedule an inspection in advance? If yes, then how far?
- What will you include in your home inspection report?
- How long will the home inspection take?
- Will you be including images in the home inspection report?
- When will you provide me with the inspection report after the inspection?
- Do you have any sample inspection reports that you can show me?
- Can you provide three references to me?
Choosing the Right Home Inspector
You need to hire a home inspector who can actually guide you through your home-buying process. After all, you’re relying on them to make one of the most important decisions of your life. You can use these tips when hiring the right home inspector to perform the home inspection:
Obtain Past Home Inspection Reports
This is one of the best ways to judge the expertise of your home inspector. You can ask them for past inspection reports or sample reports. This way you will get an idea about how your inspection report will look like. Be sure to review the report to ensure that it has enough details and images that meet your needs. Also, ensure that it is easily understandable and easy to comprehend.
Watch Out for Red Flags
You may always attend your home inspection. If your inspector tells you that you don’t need to attend the inspection, it is definitely a red flag you need to look out for. It’s better to choose a different inspector then and there. Additionally, if the inspector is offering you to make repairs after identifying issues or if they recommend some contractor that can help you with the repairs, these two instances are another red flag you need to look out for. Both of the situations might indicate a conflict of interest, and the inspector might offer biased services.
Request References and Read Reviews
Always ask the inspector for relevant references from their past clients. You can also do your own homework by reading online reviews. Both of these are great ways to know what you will be dealing with and whether the inspector is reliable and credible. Remember that when you’re buying a home, you’re putting lots of money on the line. And scheduling an inspection is an integral part of making confident decisions. So, you need to ensure that you’re not leaving any loopholes when hiring an inspector in the first place.
Determine Scheduling Preferences
You need to understand how quickly you need to schedule your home inspection. It’s always a game of first come and first serve, considering how fast-paced the housing market is these days. The inspector will most likely take a couple of hours to conduct an inspection. Thus, every inspector will move on a limit on how many inspections they can cover in a week.
Receive Three Pricing Quotes
It’s best to ask for pricing quotes from at least three different home inspectors and then make your final decision about hiring one. You may ask for estimated quotes from the short-listed home inspectors, then compare the services each of them is offering, and later consider the price difference. Know that the price of a home inspection may range from $200 to $500, so make sure the inspector is quoting somewhere around the same price.
Conclusion
Hiring a home inspector is one of the important steps that you take when buying a home. This is how you sign up for professional help through the real estate transaction process and know what you’re buying is actually your dream home and not some trap. You need to schedule a home inspection for this, and the most integral part of an inspection is the inspector – the backbone of the process.
Make sure to hire a qualified, licensed, and professional home inspector in Jacksonville, FL, using the steps we mentioned in this blog. Look out for their qualifications, references, red flags, and a lot more. Instead of finding an individual home inspector, you can schedule an inspection with a well-reputed home inspection company like Pro-Spect. This way, you can rest easily and know that what you’re getting is best for you and your home.
