10 Questions to Ask Your Home Inspector

Buying a home is likely the largest purchase you will ever make. Once an offer is approved, the next step after securing financing is getting the home inspected.

The best way to ensure you use a professional home inspector is to seek referrals from your, Your Mortgage Your Way mortgage professional, real estate agent or friends. You need to find a full time, licensed home inspector who will be unbiased and not one who is trying to win your home maintenance business.

The purpose of a home inspection is for the inspector to be able to tell you everything you need to know about the home you’re going to purchase so that you can make an informed decision.

Here are 10 key questions you can ask your home inspector before booking them in to ensure the inspection will be completed professionally and thoroughly:

1. Can I see your licence/professional credentials and proof of insurance?
2. How many years’ experience do you have as a home inspector? (Make sure they’re talking specifically about home inspection and not just how much experience they have in a single trade.)
3. How many inspections have you personally completed?
4. What qualifications and training do you have? Are you a member of a professional organization? What’s your background – construction, engineering, plumbing, etc?
5. Can I see some references? (Make sure you also check the references.)
6. What kind of report do you provide? Do you take pictures of the house and add them to your report?
7. What kind of tools do you use during your inspection?
8. Can you give me an idea of what kind of repairs the house may need? (Be wary if they offer to fix the issues themselves or can recommend someone else to complete the job.)
9. When do you do the inspection? (Ideally you want to get it done in the day when they can see the roof)
10. How long do your inspections usually take?

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