Home Inspections: How to Find a Good Inspector? (Dallas, McKinney: real estate, how much)

[globe9]

We are now looking for a qualified home inspector. Our realtor gave us the name of one. I've googled his name and the name of his company, but nothing really comes up in the way of reviews, good or bad. I see the company name on lists of Home Inspectors in Dallas, but that's about it.

Are there any sites where I can read reviews of inspectors and see which ones are good and which ones are not so good?

We just moved here, so aside from some family, we don't know anyone who would be able to recommend anyone.

If anyone knows of any good inspectors, please feel free to recommend them. We need to find one ASAP.

Thanks!

ETA: Let me add that on the website of the guy the realtor gave us it states that he's been in the construction industry for 15 years, he is licensed through the Texas Real Estate Commission, Members of the International Association of Home Inspectors, and the Texas Association of Real Estate Inspectors. I don't know if this is all fluff and I could gain admittance to these things, or if the fact, that he is a member and licensed is a good thing.

[FalconheadWest]

Your agent should never give just one referral for something like this. She/He needs to give you options. There aren't really any websites with ratings for inspectors. You can go to places like ActiveRain.com or Angie's list, but the best inspector referral is one that your agent refers. I have 4 inspectors that I give out. They're all great and they don't scare buyers away, rather they explain to buyers the issues in their homes and "this is a $2 part at Home Depot" or "this would concern me as a safety hazard".

Being a home inspector is an art, and there are bad ones out there who don't quite understand what their job is... I can refer you to one of the inspectors that 95% of my Dallas buyers always used. He's great. I'll send you a DM.

[globe9]

Thanks!

We aren't easily scared away as in our last home we completely remodeled ourselves, so are familiar with a lot of systems(electrical, plumbing, etc) that could have issues and how much something could be. We also have a comprehensive home warranty included in our contract with the seller, so that adds some peace of mind.

The realtor we have was recommended by our realtor in Nola. She is originally from Nola as well and has been very helpful. We do trust her as we were ready to put in an offer on this house about $10k more than what she said we should do. She talked us out of that offer even though she would have made more commission. She was right btw and we got the house for less than our initial offer would have been. I don't think she'd just foist an inspector on us if he wasn't good, but we like to do our research so I came here, as this board is always helpful

[robmab]

Our realtor gave us several (maybe 4-5) home inspector recommendations. We looked each of them up on Angie's List, and ended up choosing the one that had the best reviews. He was a very experienced inspector with a background in architecture and construction, and he provided great information about the house (a historic home) without overwhelming or scaring us. Like you, we had a great realtor whom we completely trusted, and we really valued her recommendations. However, it's always great to have reviews from unbiased users, and Angie's List is a good source for that.

[mSooner]

We liked Isbon Engineering (foundation inspection) and A Closer Look (home inspection). Isbon Engineering also does home inspections and you can save money by having him do both the foundation and home inspection if you wanted both. We were in a time crunch and he wasn't available to do the home inspection too, so we went with both.

[Johnhw2]

Originally Posted by mSooner

We liked Isbon Engineering (foundation inspection) and A Closer Look (home inspection). Isbon Engineering also does home inspections and you can save money by having him do both the foundation and home inspection if you wanted both. We were in a time crunch and he wasn't available to do the home inspection too, so we went with both.

I used him as well for both home and foundation. He was excellent. I strongly feel going with a PE and professional home inspector as is David Isbon, combines the best of those two experts.

[escanlan]

Originally Posted by globe9

We are now looking for a qualified home inspector. Our realtor gave us the name of one. I've googled his name and the name of his company, but nothing really comes up in the way of reviews, good or bad. I see the company name on lists of Home Inspectors in Dallas, but that's about it.

Are there any sites where I can read reviews of inspectors and see which ones are good and which ones are not so good?

None that are not flawed. The best thing these sites are good for is to see who has a lot of really bad reviews on them. Obviously you won't want to use that Inspector. Even with the reviews you should still use that as only one of the criteria for selecting your Home Inspector.

We just moved here, so aside from some family, we don't know anyone who would be able to recommend anyone.

If anyone knows of any good inspectors, please feel free to recommend them. We need to find one ASAP.

Thanks!

ETA: Let me add that on the website of the guy the realtor gave us it states that he's been in the construction industry for 15 years,

It is unfortunate but we have many Inspectors here that make all manner of fantastic claims. There is even one here that also claims some high number of years in construction which makes him working at around age 8. We have another Inspector who claimed he provided "Engineering Services" and alluded that he was an Engineer. The Texas State Board of Professional Engineers (licensing board) put a stop to the claims but that same Inspector was never give any administrative punishments by the Inspector licensing board for false advertisements. False advertising here is rampant and nothing is done about it. If it is important to you that the Inspector have any particular background then make them show you documented proof of it. Otherwise take any fanciful claims with a grain of salt.

he is licensed through the Texas Real Estate Commission,

Any person in Texas that wants to advertise and perform home inspections for buyers or sellers of real property (let's keep it to residential property and single family homes) is required to be licensed by The Texas Real Estate Commission. That even includes licensed Professional Engineers who must obtain a TREC license. That's the State law that also unfortunately is not properly enforced. There are reasons that you do not want to use anyone that is not properly licensed by TREC (TREC - Home Page). I will leave them out to keep this short but basically if an person not licensed by TREC causes problems for you then you will have no recourse except through civil litigation against them.

Members of the International Association of Home Inspectors, and the Texas Association of Real Estate Inspectors. I don't know if this is all fluff and I could gain admittance to these things, or if the fact, that he is a member and licensed is a good thing.

Inspector associations have little to no value to the consumer. Any benefits you receive are only after the members if at all. Associations (all professions) are there to service their members and survive from membership numbers and dues. Neither of those associations you mentioned would eject a problem member until after they lose their license which takes a great deal to have it yanked. If these associations ejected members they would lose dues money and their membership numbers would drop which costs revenue from sponsors and advertisers. The Inspector associations all have their various Inspector levels that are used only as fluff and advertising to draw you in. I have been invited at one time or another to "Buy" my way into some of those supposed advanced levels.

I've placed some answers in blue below your questions above.

No matter where you obtain your referral you should still performance your due diligence and check the Inspector out. One very good way is to request a sample report of an actual inspection they have performed. These should have identifying information redacted and changed to protect the current homeowner. Review the report and compare it to other Inspectors reports. The State has a required reporting format outline that is identical between all Inspectors. Not only will it show you the report format to expect but can tell you a lot about an Inspector. There are a lot of poor quality reports out there and they will be obvious.

Another way to check out your Inspector is to check the three most used BB's by Inspectors.

InterNACHI Inspection Forum
Inspection News, home inspection Information, inspector, radon environmental
Home Inspector Forums, News, Resources, Education and Events

See if your Inspector is posting on those boards, what kinds of questions they ask, what they are saying, etc. It's truly amazing the questions I see asked on these boards as well as some of the things Inspectors will blurt out in their posts. If your chosen Inspector is up there posting it can help you gain some insight into them and their abilities as well.

Good luck on your search and if you have specific questions about the topic feel free to email me.

[FuturaDesign]

We just had our new construction David Weekley home inspected by a referral from our realtor. Very, very, very thorough guy. He took about 6-7 hours inspecting every single part of the house. I'll message you his details.

[Mr.Bungle]

Darrell Tinglov of Professional Property Inspectors. Darrell Tinglov Welcomes You to Professional Property Inspections Inc - McKinney, Dallas, Texas, (TX), Home Inspector, Home Inspectors, House Inspection, House Inspections, House Inspector, House Inspectors, Association of Real Estate Inspectors, Bui He's inspected my home several times and explains things so you understand them.

[globe9]

Thanks for all the referrals. We chose an inspector and he's coming tomorrow morning. Hopefully all goes well and there isn't too much wrong, and hopefully none of its major.