Question in hire the house Inspector (Houston, Rule: real estate, buy, new construction)
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Pre-Pour (slab), Framing, and Final Walkthrough.
Google Brad Leland Inspections for here in Houston.
We are using him now and I've been pretty happy with him.
You get detailed, easy to understand reports with pics usually the same evening.
Pre-Pour (slab), Framing, and Final Walkthrough.
Google Brad Leland Inspections for here in Houston.
We are using him now and I've been pretty happy with him.
You get detailed, easy to understand reports with pics usually the same evening.
We just sign the contract on an inventory house .. this is our first time buy a home ever .. so we need lot of advices ..
Is the next step is find an inspector?
So what question should you ask when look for an inspector?
What should we request the inspector do ?
Well, we don't really know where to start our question list .. please help
Many thanks
no question really.. if you got a decent inspector he will check everything, you can come with him if you want. he will create a report that you will give to your builder. it will take about 4 hours for the last phase inspection.
it's good i heard to hire an inspector again after 1 or 2 years depending on your house warranty.
Make sure you have a good inspector and don't use your realtors inspector. I was trying to save money and went with a less expensive one and got what I paid for. If I would of known the things I've found out living here that the insoector should of caught I would have offered a different price or would have asked the seller to fix more.
We just sign the contract on an inventory house .. this is our first time buy a home ever .. so we need lot of advices ..
Is the next step is find an inspector?
So what question should you ask when look for an inspector?
What should we request the inspector do ?
Well, we don't really know where to start our question list .. please help
Many thanks
Hello newhome1234,
The first thing I would advise you do is to become familiar with the rules that govern Home Inspectors. In Texas they are licensed by The Texas Real Estate Commission. You can find the rules for Inspectors here at the TREC WEB site TREC - Rules Governing Inspectors . You do not need to read them all just sections 535.220, 535.222, 535.223, and 535.227 through 535.233 (the Stabdards of Practice or SOP). These are the bare minimum standards that any licensed Inspector are required to follow. Remember I did say these are the "MINIMUM" standards and nothing prevents an Inspector from exceeding these minimums. Even TREC states this.
It is important to have even a familiarity with these which can help you form your Inspector interview questions. Also be careful as there are unlicensed Home Inspectors operating and also Home Inspectors who have let their license lapse. On the TREC WEB site you can look up a persons license status as well.
The questions you ask a Home Inspector should deal with what you feel you need in Home Inspector qualifications and what you need for your inspection. Instead of providing you questions I will instead provide you some food for thought when looking for an Inspector.
No matter where you get the referral for a Home Inspector you should check them out closely. There are illegal/unlicensed Inspectors being referred.
The SOP for Inspectors is the minimum required and if you read it closely there are many opportunities for an Inspector to disclaim items or areas and literally not inspect them. One example is the "Safety" clause that an Inspector can declare something unsafe and not fully inspect it. For example some Inspectors will declare roofs unsafe and not walk them during the inspection. Be careful with this when selecting Inspectors and make sure you ask if they inspect all of the areas you are concerned with.
Please note all of the "Optional" items on the inspection SOP, and the report form. If you have optional items in this home make sure you discuss with the Inspector if they do an inspection on them and make sure it is in any contract they want you to sign.
Never use an Inspector that does not have an inspection contract, and always get the contract well before the inspection so you can read and review it. Some Inspectors will book your inspection and not mention a contract. Then they show up the day of the inspection and want you to sign one at that time. Usually those type have all kinds of waivers, exclusions, etc., in the contract to protect them and make their job easier while costing you.
Always ask the Inspector for a sample of his home inspection report and review it before selecting the Inspector. Make sure you ask and receive multiple Inspectors and get those reports so you can see the differences between them. The type of home being inspected for the sample report does not matter much. In other words if they want to give you a sample report of an existing home instead of a new construction does not really matter. A good Inspector is consistent from one inspection to another on how they report and what they report. What you're looking for is one that writes a clear and detailed report. Detail oriented Inspectors do this no matter what kind of inspection they are performing. Other Inspectors will write brief reports that you either can't understand or are so vague the report is useless.
Be very careful of all the gimmicks out there just to get your business. As consumers we are all love free stuff, even me! But with home inspections nothing is really free. Go to my WEB site (listed in my profile) and check out the Blog I wrote about that as it is worth reading.
When you look for an Inspector leave price out of the initial conversation and interview. If you really want an advantage don't ask the price and instead do your interview and get a copy of the contract and sample report. Any good Inspector is willing to give you any information they can for you to make a decision on selecting them. They will give it up freely and not balk at all. After you find three Inspectors you are comfortable with then call those three and talk price. If you use price in any initial calls you will find a variety of prices and become fixated on it instead of what really matters. Once you select your list of Inspectors then use price if it is important to you.
Be careful of all of the experience, licensing, certification, etc., claims on an Inspectors WEB site or advertisements. If an Inspector can't prove their claims then take them not with a grain of salt but with a whole barrel of salt. I see many false, embellished, illegal, etc., claims on Inspectors WEB sites. As a consumer it is hard for you to not only verify these but also verify them quickly enough to make a selection decision.
If you go to my WEB site I have many Blogs under the consumer protection section that can help you understand the potential problems out there. My links pages, especially the government links page, have many useful links to help as well. If you have specific questions or concerns feel free to email me via regular email and I will be more than happy to help you with answers and understanding the process.
Good luck and let us know how your experience was.
SOLID advise... Thanks for sharing this mate... Good stuff and so very true....
Always check license, reputation, track record. Zero tolerance as far as my concern goes when picking the right person(s) for the right job.
Quote:
Originally Posted by escanlan
Hello newhome1234,
The first thing I would advise you do is to become familiar with the rules that govern Home Inspectors. In Texas they are licensed by The Texas Real Estate Commission. You can find the rules for Inspectors here at the TREC WEB site TREC - Rules Governing Inspectors . You do not need to read them all just sections 535.220, 535.222, 535.223, and 535.227 through 535.233 (the Stabdards of Practice or SOP). These are the bare minimum standards that any licensed Inspector are required to follow. Remember I did say these are the "MINIMUM" standards and nothing prevents an Inspector from exceeding these minimums. Even TREC states this.
It is important to have even a familiarity with these which can help you form your Inspector interview questions. Also be careful as there are unlicensed Home Inspectors operating and also Home Inspectors who have let their license lapse. On the TREC WEB site you can look up a persons license status as well.
The questions you ask a Home Inspector should deal with what you feel you need in Home Inspector qualifications and what you need for your inspection. Instead of providing you questions I will instead provide you some food for thought when looking for an Inspector.
No matter where you get the referral for a Home Inspector you should check them out closely. There are illegal/unlicensed Inspectors being referred.
The SOP for Inspectors is the minimum required and if you read it closely there are many opportunities for an Inspector to disclaim items or areas and literally not inspect them. One example is the "Safety" clause that an Inspector can declare something unsafe and not fully inspect it. For example some Inspectors will declare roofs unsafe and not walk them during the inspection. Be careful with this when selecting Inspectors and make sure you ask if they inspect all of the areas you are concerned with.
Please note all of the "Optional" items on the inspection SOP, and the report form. If you have optional items in this home make sure you discuss with the Inspector if they do an inspection on them and make sure it is in any contract they want you to sign.
Never use an Inspector that does not have an inspection contract, and always get the contract well before the inspection so you can read and review it. Some Inspectors will book your inspection and not mention a contract. Then they show up the day of the inspection and want you to sign one at that time. Usually those type have all kinds of waivers, exclusions, etc., in the contract to protect them and make their job easier while costing you.
Always ask the Inspector for a sample of his home inspection report and review it before selecting the Inspector. Make sure you ask and receive multiple Inspectors and get those reports so you can see the differences between them. The type of home being inspected for the sample report does not matter much. In other words if they want to give you a sample report of an existing home instead of a new construction does not really matter. A good Inspector is consistent from one inspection to another on how they report and what they report. What you're looking for is one that writes a clear and detailed report. Detail oriented Inspectors do this no matter what kind of inspection they are performing. Other Inspectors will write brief reports that you either can't understand or are so vague the report is useless.
Be very careful of all the gimmicks out there just to get your business. As consumers we are all love free stuff, even me! But with home inspections nothing is really free. Go to my WEB site (listed in my profile) and check out the Blog I wrote about that as it is worth reading.
When you look for an Inspector leave price out of the initial conversation and interview. If you really want an advantage don't ask the price and instead do your interview and get a copy of the contract and sample report. Any good Inspector is willing to give you any information they can for you to make a decision on selecting them. They will give it up freely and not balk at all. After you find three Inspectors you are comfortable with then call those three and talk price. If you use price in any initial calls you will find a variety of prices and become fixated on it instead of what really matters. Once you select your list of Inspectors then use price if it is important to you.
Be careful of all of the experience, licensing, certification, etc., claims on an Inspectors WEB site or advertisements. If an Inspector can't prove their claims then take them not with a grain of salt but with a whole barrel of salt. I see many false, embellished, illegal, etc., claims on Inspectors WEB sites. As a consumer it is hard for you to not only verify these but also verify them quickly enough to make a selection decision.
If you go to my WEB site I have many Blogs under the consumer protection section that can help you understand the potential problems out there. My links pages, especially the government links page, have many useful links to help as well. If you have specific questions or concerns feel free to email me via regular email and I will be more than happy to help you with answers and understanding the process.
Good luck and let us know how your experience was.
Have recently gone through the home inspection and actually picked my own inspector that someone on this forum has recommended his name was Will and the company was Red Fish - pretty awesome guy and the inspection he performed was superb. He looked at everything and picked up a lot of small details. I'd highly recomend him and would definitely not go with what a realtor/construction office recommends to you.
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