- Although all home inspectors in Maryland must be licensed, licensing alone is not an indicator of a ‘good’ inspector. Inspectors should have passed the National Exam and be a member of a professional association that requires continuing education. Many inspectors were “grandfathered” and have not passed the nation exam, nor kept up with new building methods, materials, products and safety recommendations.
- Even though HUD, Fannie Mae, Freddie MAC, the Realtor Association and others all strongly suggest all home buyers get a Home Inspection, nationally only about one-third of buyers do.
- Home Inspectors are PROHIBITED from performing repairs on the home they inspect for one year by Maryland Law. (http://www.dllr.state.md.us/license/law/reahiethicscode.doc)
- Home Inspectors cannot “…accept or offer a commission or allowance, directly or indirectly, to or from another party dealing with the client in connection with home inspection services for which the inspector is responsible.” In other words, they can’t be paid by a company in exchange for recommending them.
- Home Inspections save money in the long run. Whether it is negotiated repairs, a lower selling price, or reduced operating expenses due to the repairs, Home Inspections tend to save more than their cost within a year or so.
- Home Inspectors are not experts, and are proud of it. Home Inspectors base their observations on experience and training on many many houses. They make quick assessments on systems based on what they see without extensive instrumentation or a technically exhaustive inspection. A Home inspection will cost much less than the sum of individual trade inspections. To have ‘experts’ do what a home inspector does, you would need to hire a roofer, a plumber, an electrician, a heating and cooling company, a garage door company, a window company, an appliance company, an insulation contractor, a landscape contractor, a gutter company… Well, you get the idea. That could cost MUCH more and take much more time and effort, and each company will almost certainly try to sell you something. At the end of the inspection, the home inspector may suggest that you have some experts come in to address specific issues, but they will be identified for you.
- Each individual Home Inspector sets their own pricing. Some base it on the selling price, others on the square footage. Some have extras for crawl spaces, age, outbuildings, multiple attics, multiple heating zones and more. Ours is based primarily on Square Footage as that is indicative of the work to be done, plus factoring in the age and selling price.
- A Home Inspector cannot predict the future. The Inspection is a snapshot of a house on the day of the inspection. The inspector has no way of knowing whether a particular system will fail in the near or far future; he or she can only comment on the current condition and any evidence of past problems.
- A Home Inspection Report can take many different forms. We use carbonless forms in a three-ring binder and deliver the report at the end of the inspection. Some inspectors use electronic forms and will email the report to the client soon after the inspection. Other inspectors simply write up a running commentary. Each system has its pros and cons, and is not a reflection on the ability of the inspector.
- A home inspection is not a “Code” inspection nor is it binding. All of the findings of a Home Inspection are informational and/or suggestions. These suggestions are not REQUIRED or BINDING. Code is also not retroactive, only the code that was in effect when the house was built is appropriate for the inspection. A small percentage of Home Inspectors are certified as Code inspectors, but that is not a normal part of a Home Inspection. However, once the Inspection report has been shared with the seller, any latent or material defects noted by the inspector must be disclosed to all future potential buyers if the current contract does not go through.
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