Why should I pay for a Home Inspection that my friend can do?  

By Home Inspector Gene Ballin

Having a friend or relative look over a house before purchasing making an offer is not a bad idea. But, unless your friend or relative is experienced at inspecting homes, they might miss something.  Every home is different, even if the plans are the same, every home is unique. Because of this, the process of Home Inspection requires a very broad and high degree of both knowledge and experience.

The process of learning how to inspect a house really begins after you obtain your license. What it takes to build a home has changed in many ways over time. In some ways maybe not much, in some ways quite a bit. Materials and methods are always changing. A good home inspector keeps up with the trends of building and has to still remember how things were done in the past, understanding how the old and the new blend together. To ensure Home Inspectors keep their knowledge current, most states require Home inspectors to take continuing education classes every year, 16 to 20 hours depending on the state. If you have been inspecting homes as long as I have, you can easily accumulate enough continuing education hours to exceed the requirements of an advanced college degree. 

A Home Inspection is both an investigative as well as an informative experience. After the field work activity is completed, the Home Inspector should discuss the major inspection findings with you on-site. This is the best time to review any serious conditions discovered during the Home Inspection. The Home Inspector is then required to generate a Home Inspection Report in an approved format for possible review by a lender, insurance company or possibly a government agency. Please keep in mind some lenders, insurance companies or government agencies may require a Home Inspection with a Home Inspection report as a part of the pre-closing process. A Home Inspection report can be 4-40 pages with 100 to 150 edited pictures included. The  'Home Inspection Report' will list general descriptive information about the systems and components in the home as well as significant defects discovered.

Once you are equipped with the knowledge of the Home Inspection, you can make a better-informed decision about your home purchase.