Home Inspection Specifics: Specialties, Qualifications, Expectations

In part one of this two-part blog series, we went over some basics on the role of home inspectors, plus the areas they do and don’t cover when inspecting a given home. A home inspection is one of the most important due diligence elements of any home purchase, and understanding exactly what it’s in place for and what will be included often makes a big difference.

At Aerolite Consulting, we’re proud to offer not only standard home inspection services, but also environmental contaminant testing, energy audits and several other related areas. We’ll be happy to detail our precise services to any client in need of further specifics, including exactly which areas we will and won’t cover plus the role our inspectors play in your home negotiations. Today’s part two of our series will go into some other important factors to consider when hiring a home inspector, including required qualifications and how to manage your expectations for the entire process.

Evidence of Issues

Going into any home inspection situation, it’s important for you as a buyer to know that home inspectors are not considered experts on any of the specific systems they’re inspecting. Rather, they’re what’s known as generalists – they’re trained to note the evidence of issues taking place in a variety of different home systems or fixtures.

In addition, they’re trained to know how to tell whether certain problems are serious or somewhat minor. They can also typically recommend specialists from designated fields who can help with remediation of issues, such as recommending an electrician for a home with a poorly-wired circuit box. However, your inspector will not be able to remedy these issues themselves – and even if they could, this is not part of the job description.

Required Qualifications

Now, it’s also vital to note that home inspectors may come from a few different previous fields, including some of the specific areas they inspect. Many will start out by contracting in a certain area, but will gain enough knowledge of a variety of home systems and components over time that they eventually move into the home inspector world. As long as proper licensure can be shown, something all our inspectors are happy to produce, you can feel confident.

Expectations and Transparency

Based on the themes we’ve gone over in this series, it’s important to have the right expectations when heading into a home inspection. Your home inspector should comprehensively evaluate the home in the specific ways we went over in part one, plus should be able to offer you details and recommendations on remedying any significant issues; at the same time, you have to know that your inspector cannot actually repair issues for you, and will be limited in terms of their inspection services for certain areas. It’s also very helpful to inquire with your inspector ahead of time to get an idea of what will be on your inspection report, plus any other important details you need to know heading in.

For more on the specifics of a home inspection, or to learn about any of our home inspections, environmental contaminant testing or other services, speak to the staff at Aerolite Consulting today.