Professional Home Inspector
There are many home inspectors out there that you can hire to inspect your new home, but there are actually just very few of them who are truly professional. A professional home inspector is one who does his job well. Not only has that, but he always made sure that he does nothing that is in contravention of the rules of his profession or with some law.
Now, there are many services added in a home inspection and often these are for additional fees. However, there are several items that a professional home inspector just can't do. These include building code or zoning ordinance violations, among others. So how can you, as a home buyer, find out if whether or not the professional home inspector is doing something he should be doing?
The following are the rules by which the professional home inspector abides:
Rules Aren't Made To Be Broken
Like any other specialist working for a profession, the professional home inspector is bound by the rules of his profession. One of these rules is to never do anything that is contrary to any law or code. A professional home inspector should do any work requiring an occupational license that he does not have. So when you hire a professional home inspector, make sure that he has all the proper accreditation and occupational license to do the work you require him to do.
You should also try to do your part as well. Now that you know a professional home inspector is not trained to analyze building codes, you should not be asking him any questions that pertain to that regard. A professional home inspector should not say that something is a code violation unless he is certified in that field. This is because code inspections are municipal inspections and the people who do these are working with government oversight.
Misplaced Advice
The professional home inspector is not an engineer. So unless he is a certified professional engineer with specific experience, he should be giving any comments on the geological stability or soils condition of the property. Neither should he give any advice on soil stability or provide an engineering analysis of a home.
While the professional home inspector is expected to notice any damage or rot caused by insect settlement, his advice should not be taken in the place of a proper pest inspection. He is no professional pest control technician, and therefore, he should not be doing any inspections for termites, pests, and other wood destroying organisms. Likewise, the professional home inspector is not trained to analyze asbestos, radon, formaldehyde, lead, water or air quality, electromagnetic radiation, and other environmental hazards.
No Value, No Gain
The professional home inspector should not provide building value appraisal. Neither should he give you any repair cost estimates. This job falls under the functions of appraisers who are trained specifically in the process of real estate valuation. At best, the professional home inspector can only answer you according to his own personal opinion and should not be taken as the final word. For repair estimates, your best contacts are contractors and trade professionals.
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