Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hi,
Wondering who to ask to find out the top home inspector in any given area for older homes? Local housing authority? A super stringent association of inspectors?
When I say "top" ---I mean:
*highly qualified and experienced in number of inspections performed (qualifications way beyond license alone)
* highly qualified in inspecting old homes (homes over 50 yrs old)
* awarded highest standards in profession for finding the issues in a home that everyone else misses
*Go above and beyond in what they inspect----incredibly thorough
*Carry errors and omissions insurance and provide a good warranty backing their work
*the top dog inspector the selling agents fear because they find everything!!!
Buying an Older home, Sounds like you want more than a general Licensed TX Inspector and should consider getting the following out to look over your home:
1. Foundation Engineer
2. HVAC Professional
3. Electrician
4. Plumber
5. Roofer
You're wanting more than a "generalist" who works off the standard TREC Inspection report. A very good inspector will find issues where other very good inspectors find issues.
About "An Inspector Listing agents fear".... we don't fear a very complete and accurate inspector. We fear Inspectors that make issues where there are no issues. I know one local Inspector who loves to tell buyers agents hate him, the reason they do is because he loves to scare the crap out of buyers and is not that good at his job. But that's his marketing pitch.
Now if you are really looking for the name of a good accurate DFW inspector who has done many old homes and been in business for many years give me a DM. I can refer you to the guy I've used for many years.
Hi,
Wondering who to ask to find out the top home inspector in any given area for older homes? Local housing authority? A super stringent association of inspectors?
The local housing authority typically does not recommend Inspectors unless it is an Inspector for a specialty program they run.
Although you will hear many fantastic claims from them there are no super stringent associations for Inspectors.
When I say "top" ---I mean:
*highly qualified and experienced in number of inspections performed (qualifications way beyond license alone)
The number of inspections performed is not necessarily an indicator of how good they might be. There is no real magical number to gauge how good an Inspector is. Take for example an Inspector that claims to have performed say over 500 inspections a year. That really sounds good if you gauge the Inspector's ability on the number of inspections they performed. However if you perform the math you'll see that equates to approximately 2 inspections each day based on a Mon - Fri work week. Performing 2 each day does not allow for your requirement below of being "incredibly thorough".
Be very careful about any Inspector's advertised "qualifications way beyond license alone". We have plenty in this area that list many, many qualifications on their WEB sites and advertisements. Make sure that they can prove those qualifications because anyone can claim they have them but few do and can prove them.
* highly qualified in inspecting old homes (homes over 50 yrs old)
Any good Inspector knows the issues associated with older homes and should have no problems identifying the issues. Where this requirement can be very helpful is inspecting very, very old homes, particularly those that are in historic districts that have requirements to maintain the historical features of the home.
* awarded highest standards in profession for finding the issues in a home that everyone else misses
There is no real award or recognition for this except for those Inspectors that take the proper time to inspect and report. What everyone else misses are the items beyond the minimum inspection requirements mandated by The Texas Real Estate Commission. Unfortunately you will find many Inspectors that only inspect to the minimum required by TREC.
*Go above and beyond in what they inspect----incredibly thorough
Thorough means taking the proper time to inspect and report. As the phrase goes "Time is money" so expect that to obtain a truly thorough inspection and report is not cheap. If you're being quoted cheap then you need to dig heavily into why. Stay away from the comments that "Oh, an inspection should only cost XXX dollars". A good Inspector is a professional in every sense of the word and professionals charge what they are worth. You will see that many Inspectors in this area obviously feel they are not worth much and you will experience that as well if price becomes your motivating factor for your Inspector choice.
*Carry errors and omissions insurance and provide a good warranty backing their work
All Inspectors in Texas are required to carry errors and omissions insurance to maintain their license. As for a warranty the only one you will receive is a money back guarantee. If any Inspector offers you more than that you have found a problem and not an Inspector. Of course if you want two free inspections there are Inspectors out there advertising "Double your money back" guarantees. Get one of those to perform the initial inspection and then complain and demand your money back and the "Double your money back" guarantee and have another Inspector inspect the home. Now you get two sets of eyes on the home.
*the top dog inspector the selling agents fear because they find everything!!!
A good, thorough Inspector, writing a good report is the one that finds everything that is accessible to find. Again see the response to "thorough" above.
Thanks in advance!
I have placed responses in blue above. If there is one major piece of advice I would give you is to request a sample report from each Inspector you are thinking of using. Make sure they are giving you a report of an actual home inspection and not some made up "Worst of the worst" samples they created. Make sure that you thoroughly read the sample reports and compare them to each other. The report can tell you a great deal about the Inspector. You will be amazed at the low quality you will encounter in reports alone.
I have placed responses in blue above. If there is one major piece of advice I would give you is to request a sample report from each Inspector you are thinking of using. Make sure they are giving you a report of an actual home inspection and not some made up "Worst of the worst" samples they created. Make sure that you thoroughly read the sample reports and compare them to each other. The report can tell you a great deal about the Inspector. You will be amazed at the low quality you will encounter in reports alone.
OP, I've never met Escanlan but if you're looking for a good DFW Inspection I would speculate he would do you a very good job. He's been on here awhile and his advice is solid.
OP, I've never met Escanlan but if you're looking for a good DFW Inspection I would speculate he would do you a very good job. He's been on here awhile and his advice is solid.
Ditto
May I also add that the inspectors feared most by real estate agents are the ones who have a track recording of missing something material.
Everything Escanlan told you is correct. THere are no super duper associations. If you are buying and old house, find a buyer agent that sells a lot of old houses. They should have a good crew of referrals for you on who they recommend.
You will have more than one person involved in an inspection of a 50 year old property.
Location: Mokelumne Hill, CA & El Pescadero, BCS MX.
6,957 posts, read 22,313,597 times
Reputation: 6471
Quote:
Originally Posted by escanlan
I have placed responses in blue above. If there is one major piece of advice I would give you is to request a sample report from each Inspector you are thinking of using. Make sure they are giving you a report of an actual home inspection and not some made up "Worst of the worst" samples they created. Make sure that you thoroughly read the sample reports and compare them to each other. The report can tell you a great deal about the Inspector. You will be amazed at the low quality you will encounter in reports alone.
What he said.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
