My offer on a house was just accepted and now i have to have it inspected. I've read not to ask the realtor for recomendations for home inspectors.

Does anyone have any tips on how to interview possible inspectors. Any specific questions to ask? Credentials?

Also whats the approx. price to have a house done. I've called a couple and the price varies about $150 between the 3.

 

Ask your bank(or private banker if you have one) to make a suggestion, I work with a number of inspectors but don't think there would be any savings due to the distance. If you don't feel comfortable with the ones you find, my private banker is VERY connected throughout the north-east and he may know someone in your area. But your bank should have a laundry list of known capable inspectors.

 

Going price around here is 10 cents/sq. foot so a 2500' home is $250.

 

In my limited experience, it hasn't mattered if the realtor gets you the inspector. Sure, they won't color or overemphasize certain things to keep the sale going, but they won't hide anything either. Everything is in the physical report. Read it. Every page. Walk around with them while they're inspecting and you'll learn a lot about the house you're buying. Ask questions. You'll get the idea whether what you're seeing is a deal breaker (or needs to be remedied before final sale) or just the minor stuff that every home has.

Also, in my experience, the realtor wants to make the sale, but they also want your return business and want to you to leave the deal happy. I've never been shafted by a realtor with respect to inspection or home problem issues. Everything gets disclosed.

Cost is in the mid ~$100 to $200 range like you were quoted.

Edit - also agree that your banker is a good resource.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

From a Realtor -

Ask your realtor for 3-5 local inspectors. Check them out on your own. Also see if they are ASHI certified. In the end, you generally get what you pay for. Like Slimey said, go through the house with the inspector and ask as many questions as you can. It should take no less than 90 minutes, and the most thorough ones could take up to 4 hours. In my experience, with a few exceptions, you get what you pay for.

P.S. My brokerage makes a point not to directly suggest any inspector because of the liability incurred if the inspector misses something. I also try to be present for all inspections, but I keep my mouth shut and read the newspaper or a book while the buyer and inspector do their thing. Once they're done, I sit down with them to discuss the results and any actions that might need to happen as a result.

Just saw there is a link on the ASHI website to search for certified inspectors by ZIP code. Of the three inspectors who I trust the most, two of them were on the list for my ZIP (one was the first result). Of course, the one I would use for my own home is not listed there, so you should also investigate through word of mouth.

 

clorich, thanks for the site link, lot of great info on there.

 

I can't help you much on a recommendation but it is definitely worth getting one. The inspector will find a lot more than $250 worth of repairs that you can go to the negotiating table with. I got a bunch of stuff repaired for free and some cash.

 

Most banks won't even give you a loan with out a dated/signed by a certified inspector. Unless your in the position that you can afford to lose a few hundred thousand its money well spent.

 

I paid around $350 for the house I tried to buy. It was around 1500 sq ft if I remember right. This guy was there for over 4 hours with us combing through the place. Short of destructive testing, there wasn't a thing he didn't go over, inside, under, or between. He answered every question I could come up with and offered up even moreinformation about what he was looking for.

He uncovered a lot of little things that I would have missed and would have cost me several times his inspection fee had htey not been identified and added to the contract.


As a side note, he was recommended by our realtor. She said she didn't often use him for first time buyers like us, but thought we could handle him. He was a major ass, and incredibly fussy. He found every little thing wrong with the house, and if you weren't prepared for it, you would have though the place was about to crumble right around you.

So, pay for a good inspection, it will likely save you money or keep you out of something that will become a money pit. Find an inspector who is severely anal retentive even if he has the personality of a brick.

 

i always thought the recommendation of an inspector by a realtor may be a conflict of interest. i would do what other say about the bank and checking credentials

 

I think that it's not if the inspector is official and certified (I didn't know there were uncertified inspectors ). The inspector's report is a fairly unbiased and comprehensive document that is part of the official transaction papers. I think there's also a liability issue that makes the inspector hold to the inspection rather then the sale of the property. It's not in their direct interest if the property sells or doesn't -- just circumstantial with respect to further referrals.

 

Thanks for the help, have an inspector coming out tommorrow.

 

One thing people usually don't think about with inspectors. You should have a home inspection performed on your house before you list it for sale. That way you can see what issues you have and make needed repairs.

 

Agree, in part. It depends also what you'll do with the information when problems are found. Will you lower your asking cost? Will you repair the problems?

With the recent market being so hot I was unwilling to do anything to the house to get it to sell...and it sold for close to ~50K above a non-lowball asking price! ...and the buyers had NO contingencies and NO inspection. Not how I would ever purchase, but that's the current/recent market.

 

ask friends for recommendations..

do not use one from the Agent. They tend to be careful about what they find as they do not want to kill the deal for the Agent... slight conflict there.

just my 2 cents

 

Thanks again, I ended finding one through a friend. Worked out pretty good and close on the house the end of the month.

 

The only danger there is that you're legally required to disclose any known defect. So if the inspector finds something major that you didn't know about, you've pretty much got to fix it or disclose it to potential buyers. I guarantee they'll use the info to their advantage.