Olympic Inspection has developed this page to help you choose the best inspector for your needs. The home inspection industry in the recent years has seen a boom in the number of inspectors to meet the demand of the current real estate market. The state of Washington currently has no qualification requirements or licenses for home inspectors, so basically anybody with a business license, flashlight and an official looking checklist can be a home inspector. The exception to this is the pest inspection portion. Because of the easy nature of entering the home inspection business and a myriad of home inspection schools many less than qualified people have set up shop as home inspectors.

Despite all this there are many well qualified home inspectors available.  Olympic Inspection is committed to providing quality service to match your needs and designed this page to help you decide on an inspection firm the best suites your needs, whether it is Olympic Inspection or not.  Although we feel we give the best home inspections available, this is general information that applies to all home inspection companies and is not a sales pitch. Below are some of the most important topics related to choosing a home inspector and at the bottom of the list are questions that you should ask of home inspectors. 

QUALIFICATIONS

Ask 10 people the best background and inspector should have and you are likely to get 10 answers.  Because inspectors are generalists and are required to have some knowledge about all parts of a home experience in some construction trade is essential.  Experience such as remodeling or general contracting.  Experience in specific trades offers limited help because the person may know everything about electrical but nothing about structural components.

Attending a reputable school is essential for success in home inspection.  There is just too much for an inspector to know based on personal experience.  Formal inspection training offers knowledge on all types and all age ranges of home, some thing that you could never get on pure experience.  Formal college education, though not required to perform a quality inspection, is a definite benefit.  An inspector could do the greatest inspection but if they cant professionally articulate the information its worthless.

In Washington state you must be licensed to mention ANYTHING regarding pests in a home.  Any report must have the pest inspectors license number and a report number clearly shown.  A list of pest inspectors can be found at: http://agr.wa.gov/PestFert/LicensingEd/ListStructuralPestInspectors.htm

If your inspector is not listed on this list they are not licensed to report on pests.

SCOPE

What does the inspection include?  Do they cover all the major home systems?  Are they able to offer insight on how the systems work or are they only willing to report findings?  Most home inspectors cover a similar scope of work.  The time is takes to so a quality home inspection varies, it should take an absolute minimum of 2 for a small home and can exceed 4 hours for large or older homes.  An inspector offering an hour long inspection is absolutely missing the boat.  Does the inspector actually go on the roof, crawl down under the home?  A good indicator is the ladder they carry, can there ladder actually reach a tall second story roof?  You should also be asking what they do not cover, typically inspectors do not cover exterior items such as pools, spas, barns, wells, and such.  Lastly a home inspector should not advertise a low price and then mark it up with normally inspected items or try to up sell you with phony tests such as microwave tests, while those tests are fine, they should be included.

REPORTS

There are literally hundreds of styles of reports available, from hand written reports on a check sheet all the way up to full color, computer generated reports accessed via the internet.  The report should be concise and easy to read.  A sole checklist is very difficult to decipher, and does not have a check box for every possible condition.  The flip side is a completely narrative report, that is solely text, while they are very informative they can be very time consuming to extract the important information.  Combination checklist and narrative reports are a good middle ground due to the fact that the important narrative information can be quickly located with check lists.  Reports with pictures are extremely informative, there is no guessing as to where and what the problem is.  A good report should report the condition and give supplemental information as to why a particular problem is a problem, not just state the issue.  Report delivery is also an important consideration.  It todays real estate market waiting a week for a report is simply not an option.  On-site generated reports are a good option, but a high quality report with pictures take a significant amount of time to complete, causing you have to wait on the location while the inspectors completes their report.  Some companies offer online report access.  These reports are generally available in 24 hours or less and followed up by a printed copy in the mail.

MEMBERSHIPS

There are several home inspection associations that are available to inspector and firms. Typically they have inspection standards that specify how and what is inspected and some minimum assessment tests to be a member.  Some of the larger associations are National Association of Certified Home Inspectors (NACHI), American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI), and many others.  Like reports both good and poor home inspectors can belong to home inspection associations, however it show that the inspector is committed to continuing education, is up on current inspection standards and techniques and has passed a minimum knowledge exam.

INSURANCE

Even the best inspectors are only human and make mistakes.  Quality inspection firms carry Errors and Omissions (E&O) insurance which typically covers the cost of repairs in the event an inspector misses something and the missed item fails or causes damage to the home.  Policies and coverage amounts can very greatly so ask the inspector what coverage they have.  Some policies follow the inspection and some are active only while the company is insured. Lastly, due to the fact that E&O insurance can be extremely expensive to carry it is a good idea to actually ask.

THE OTHER STUFF

References: References are always a good idea to ask for.  If you do want to ask, be sure to ask for references from specific time frame.  Eliminates the canned reference and usually will be directed to a regular customer.

Guarantee: Does the inspector guarantee their work?  Good home inspectors should stand behind their work and offer your money back if you are not satisfied.

Website: Like so many other things, a quality, informative website doesnt make a good inspector but it does show they are committed to offering a high level of service to meet the current times and match requirements of their customers.

Availability: Is the inspector available 7 days a week?  Do they offer after hours inspections?  Be aware, there is no way to do a complete inspection in the dark, some daylight is required to do the exterior.

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR POTENTIAL INSPECTOR

If you have read this far you are well on your way to making an informed decision about your next home inspector.  Below is a list of questions to ask your potential inspector.  Simply highlight the questions and paste them onto your favorite word processing program and start calling!!!

Company______________________________  Phone______________________________

How long have you been inspecting homes?

Do you have any experience in the construction?  If so what is it?

Do you have any formal home inspection education?

Do you have any formal education?

Are you a licensed pest inspector through the State of Washington, if so what is your ID number?

How fast can you do a home inspection? (trick question)

What things do you not inspect?

What kind of report do you use?

Does your report have pictures?

Do you print onsite, provide online access, fax, or mail your report?

Do you belong to any home inspection organizations?

Do you carry Errors and Omissions insurance, if so what are your policy limits?

If you stop paying your policy, does the coverage stop for past inspections or does the insurance follow the inspection?

Can you provide references from inspections 2 months ago?

What is your availability?  Do you work weekends?

Do you have a website for me to look at and learn more about your company?