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As a home
buyer/seller or real estate professional, you have the right to know exactly
what a typical real estate inspection is. The following information should give
you a better understanding of exactly what your inspector should or shouldn't do
for you during the course of a home inspection.
A
home inspection
is an independent visual examination of the physical structure and systems of a
house of an apartment, including all sections from the roof down to the
foundations. Having a home inspected is akin to giving it a physical check-up.
If problems or symptoms are found, the home inspector may recommend further
evaluation.
First and foremost,
an inspection is a visual survey of those easily accessible areas that an
inspector can clearly see. No destructive testing or dismantling is done during
the course of an inspection, hence an inspector can only tell a client exactly
what was clearly in evidence at the time and date of the inspection. The
inspectors eyes are not any better than the buyers, except that the inspector is
trained to look for specific tell-tale signs and clues that may lead to the
discovery of actual or potential defects or deficiencies.
Inspectors base
their inspections on the current industry standards provided to them by their
professional societies. These Standards tell what the inspector will and can do,
as well as what the inspector will not do. Many inspectors give a copy of the
standards to their clients. If your inspector has not given you a copy, ask for
one, or go to the American Home Inspector Directory and look for your home
inspectors association.
The Industry
Standards clearly spell out specific areas in which the inspector must identify
various defects and deficiencies, as well as identifying the specific systems,
components and items that are being inspected. There are many excluded areas
noted in the standards that the inspector does not have to report on, for
example; private water and sewer systems, solar systems, security systems, etc.
The inspector is not
limited by the standards and if the inspector wishes to include additional
inspection services (typically for an extra fee) then he/she may perform as many
specific inspection procedures as the client may request. Some of these
additional services may include wood-boring insect inspection, radon testing, or
a variety of environmental testing, etc.
Most
home inspectors
will not give definitive cost estimates for repairs and replacements since the
costs can vary greatly from one contractor to another. Inspectors typically will
tell clients to secure three reliable quotes from those contractors performing
the type of repairs in question.
Life expectancies
are another area that most inspectors try not to get involved in. Every system
and component in a building will have a typical life expectancy. Some items and
units may well exceed those expected life spans, while others may fail much
sooner than anticipated. An inspector may indicate to a client, general life
expectancies, but should never give exact time spans for the above noted
reasons.
The average time for
an inspection on a typical 3-bedroom home usually takes 2 to 4 hours, depending
upon the number of bathrooms, kitchens, fireplaces, attics, etc., that have to
be inspected. Inspections that take less than two hours typically are considered
strictly cursory, "walk-through" inspections and provide the client with less
information than a full inspection.
Many inspectors
belong to national inspection organizations such as ISHI, ASHI, and NAHI. These
national organizations provide guidelines for inspectors to perform their
inspections.
All inspectors
provide clients with reports. The least desirable type of report would be an
oral report, as they do not protect the client, and leave the inspector open for
misinterpretation and liability. Written reports are far more desirable, and
come in a variety of styles and formats.
The following are
some of the more common types of written reports:
1. Checklist with
comments
2. Rating System
with comments
3. Narrative report
with either a checklist or rating system
4. Pure Narrative
report
Four key areas of
most home/building inspections cover the exterior, the basement or crawlspace
areas, the attic or crawlspace areas and the living areas. Inspectors typically
will spend sufficient time in all of these areas to visually look for a host of
red flags, telltale clues and signs or defects and deficiencies. As the
inspector completes a system, major component or area, he/she will then discuss
the findings with the clients, noting both the positive and negative features.
The inspected areas
of a home/building will consist of all of the major visible and accessible
electro-mechanical systems as well as the major visible and accessible
structural systems and components of a building as they appeared and functioned
at the time and date of the inspection.
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