Consumer Protection

Did you know that Home Inspectors are actually a function of consumer protection? It’s true, and I can tell you we’ve turned down more work than we’ve taken since opening as a company because of this.

Your real estate agent that represents you as the buyer, they are on your side. They have a code of conduct that they need to adhere to that obligates them to have your best interest at the forefront. Which is why they recommend a home inspection every time. To make sure you, their client, is protected as best as possible. Currently, they may advise you to skip the home inspection if you want your offer accepted, but that is not saying to skip the home inspection. They are being honest with you about things that make your offer more attractive to the sellers. This does not mean they don’t think you should get a home inspection though. There are alternatives in this situation, such as a pre-offer inspection, which is done before the offer, an information only inspection with the understanding it is not a contingency to get out of the deal, only to let you know what you’re getting, and a post-close inspection, which is again for information only, but we help you identify what you should get looked at or repaired.

So why is it a big deal that home inspectors are a function of consumer protection and they review the home? We’re not allowed to work with you in any other capacity after inspecting your home. Whatever we tell you may need to be fixed or further reviewed, cannot be addressed by us. It helps let you know that we’re really only there to help you understand what you’re looking at. This versus a contractor, who quite frankly, is dependent on your paying them to perform a service. 

I stated earlier that as a business, we’ve turned away more jobs than we’ve accepted since we’ve opened. That is the honest truth. The reasons are simple, we as a company take consumer protection to heart. We understand the value of your dollar. We understand that having work done on your house can be an anxiety filled experience, since most times people don’t fully understand what is being done, why or how it truly impacts their home. Only they thought there was an issue, called someone who said it needs to be fixed, and then did work. We as a company are about customer experience and education. If we tell you something is not right, we’re going to explain to you why and provide it in writing and photographs to you, so you can have a direct conversation with the person you hire to fix said issue.

We’ve gotten tons of calls for just pest and mold inspections….In those cases we refer to exterminators and mold inspection companies. They are the absolute best at determining which it is and how to treat the issues. All home inspectors would do is tell you they see signs of these things and then refer you to and to these professionals anyway, so performing that service alone does not seem like the best way to protect consumers. Don’t get me wrong, we still look for signs of these during inspections and let our clients know we have seen signs of them if present, but you need further certifications and licenses in these fields to perform these inspections with certainty and treat said areas. 

Consumer protection is why we recommend getting at least 3 quotes for services, and it’s not just about price shopping. The absolute best piece of advice we can give you is to always ask the scope of work to be performed. The scope of work tells you what they are doing, how they are going to do it and materials being used. There are many different ways jobs can be completed and not all of them take the same road to the finish. This includes home inspectors. There is no 1 standard for how an inspection report looks. There is a standard of practice document that tells us what we need to inspect and what is excluded, but nothing that says how each report needs to be formatted. Finding out how we are doing the job is just as important because you may believe something is included when it is not.