• Business and Finance
• Family
• Computers and Internet
• Auto and Trucks
• Education
• Health
• Hobbies
• Home Improvement
• Legal
• Marketing

• Home
• Arthur's Articles Home
• Browse Categories
• Browse Authors
• Submit an Article
• Search for Articles

Home » Home Improvement Articles » Choosing The Right Home Inspector

Choosing the Right Home Inspector

How would you grade your Home Inspector?

When making what is likely the biggest investment of your life (a home purchase), it is a wise thing to hire a home inspector. In some states, this is even required by law as a routine part of any real estate transaction. Idaho has no such requirement... leaving the decision to inspect a home as merely an "option" to both parties in the transaction. Not very long ago, there were no Home Inspectors at all, as the Home Inspection industry is a fairly new phenomenon. So, you are about to buy (or sell) a home and you decide to hire a home inspector. How do you find a good one? The right one for you? You could ask your Real Estate Agent for a referral as most people do. This is generally a really bad idea, and is discussed in detail at http://www.oxbowinspections.com/conflictinterest.php

The internet is your best resource to find the home inspector who's right for you. Go to any search engine (Google, Yahoo, etc...) and type the words "xxxxxxx home inspector"... just replace the "x's" with the name of the major city nearby. Pick 3 or 4 and compare them. And keep in mind, that just because an inspector comes in as the #1 entry does not mean he is the best. It merely means that his web site is better optimized... so it is wise to spread out your choices amongst the top 15 or 20 presented to you.

Idaho has no laws or regulations that control who may call themselves a "Home Inspector". That's right. The night cook at Denny's can pick up a clipboard, pick out a name, and then pick your pocket. No experience or education is required. When comparing the web sites... look for experience in construction. Look for engineering backgrounds. Look for education. Also... the Home Inspection industry as a whole is self-governed to a degree by several major trade organizations. These include NACHI ( National Association of Certified Home Inspectors) and ASHI (American Society of Home Inspectors) just to name a few. Make sure that your inspector belongs to at least one of these. The reasons are many... but primarily these organizations have established standard operating procedures and ethical guidelines which their inspectors must follow. They also establish certain education and experience standards which are critically important since the State of Idaho has no standards at all.

Knowledge of building codes is an important part of being a home inspector. These codes exist for a reason... usually as a response to construction issues which went wrong and caused death and/or property destruction. Understanding how all the building systems (Plumbing, Heating, Electrical etc...) are connected and designed to work together to achieve the minimum standards set out in codes and regulations is vital to accuracy when inspecting any building. Your inspector of choice should be real familiar with the International Code Council.

Proper equipment is an important part of home inspections. Do you want the quickest way to tell if your home inspector is truly a professional? Look at his vehicle and the type of ladder he is using. I know of several "Inspectors" who use a small economy car or an XUV and have only a collapsible ladder that will fit inside. So ask yourself... how is he going to inspect your roof with a ladder that collapses? Most (not all) ladders of this type only extend to 21.5 feet and are rarely rated for more than 200 pounds. This would be like hiring a man with a hatchet to cut down a 70 foot Oak tree. As for me: I drive a full length Suburban which is professionally adorned with company logo and identification, and it not only carries all of my tools, test equipment, and reference materials... it also gets 22+ mpg and runs on corn/flex fuel... it also carries my three ladders which range from 8 feet to 30 feet (none are collapsible).

Look for those details that set your inspector out from the rest. Things like his dress. Does he have a uniform or monogrammed shirts, or is he wearing blue jeans and a t-shirt? A necktie is a bad idea... would that guy be willing to climb into an attic or a crawlspace? Likely not. I wear stretch slacks and a monogrammed polo-type shirt for maximum flexibility, with traction shoes for those tough roofs. My uniform is blue and black... just like my Suburban and my web site. Other details: his weight. If he is grossly overweight... how in the world can he negotiate a crawlspace or an attic? He can't. Also, look for identification. The trade organizations that I described previously (NACHI, ASHI) do issue formal identification tags. These identify a member in good standing. Ask to see his I.D.

What about his pricing? Most inspectors have fairly low prices in order to stay competitive. If so... you should beware. This is the kind of guy who will tack on an extra $25 (or more) for gasoline fees beyond a certain distance. They also tend to charge more for older homes; charge more for larger homes; charge more for outbuildings; and charge a lot more for things like a Radon test. Before you know it, your "real" final bill will be several hundred dollars more than his advertised "base" price. And since I mentioned Radon... many inspectors will conduct a Radon test for a large extra fee. They use the same cheap charcoal canisters that you or I can purchase at Lowe's. Do they know anything about Radon? Likely not. Ask for their certifications or identification. At the time of this writing, I am the only Home Inspector in all of Idaho who is certified by the National Radon Safety Board.

The inspection itself: How long does it take your inspector to complete? Most will finish in the 2 – 3 hour time frame so they can squeeze in 2 – 3 inspections per day and maximize their income. Rediculous! I will often spend 2 hours in the crawlspace alone! On average... my inspections take about 7½ hours. A professional Home Inspector will take you around your home, not only pointing out defects but also showing you areas that will require future maintenance. He will educate you on where shut offs are located and explain discrepancies that he cited in his report. Whenever you book a home inspection, you should never miss this golden opportunity to learn about the systems and features of your home.

The bottom line is: Choose your own Home Inspector. Grade several of them... then choose the one that's right for you. When your Inspector arrives... grade him again. It is still not too late to choose someone else. Keep in mind that this is a huge investment you are making, and you should protect your investment by using the best inspector you can find. You are likely spending several hundred thousand dollars... so choosing an Inspector based on price in order to save a hundred bucks is just not smart. You will likely get exactly what you pay for.

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

PR: Time For a New Playbook?

When your public relations results pretty much depend on whether your news item gets used in a newspaper column or on a radio talk show, you may be ready for a fresh approach.

Why not shoot for a 1-2 PR punch?

First, focus sharply on those external audiences who play a major role in just how successful a business, non-profit or association manager you will be.

And second, use the proactive public relations blueprint outlined below to help you persuade those important outside stakeholders to your way of thinking. Then move them to take actions that lead to the success of your department, division or subsidiary.

You need a simple plan -- the fundamental premise of PR, as it turns out -- that gets everyone working towards the same external audience behaviors, and puts your public relations effort back on track.

Here's the blueprint:

"People act on their own perception of the facts before them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which something can be done. When we create, change or reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and moving-to-desired-action the very people whose behaviors affect the organization the most, the public relations mission is accomplished."

And here's a good way to put that blueprint to work in your organization as you pursue external audience behaviors that lead directly to achieving your objectives.

By the way, I'm talking about behaviors changes like welcome bounces in showroom visits, community leaders beginning to seek you out; membership applications on the rise, customers starting to make repeat purchases; organizations proposing strategic alliances and joint ventures; prospects starting to do business with you; politicians and legislators unexpectedly viewing you as a key member of the business, non-profit or association communities; and even capital givers or specifying sources beginning to look your way.

Get started by sitting down and actually listing those outside audiences of yours who behave in ways that help or hinder you in achieving your objectives. Then prioritize them by impact severity and begin work with the target audience in first place on your list.

Of course you're probably data-challenged because you aren't certain just how most members of that key outside audience perceive your organization.

There's a good chance you don't have the budget to accommodate professional survey work. So you and your PR colleagues (they should be quite familiar with perception and behavior matters) must monitor those perceptions yourself.

Interact with members of that outside audience by asking questions like "Have you ever had contact with anyone from our organization? Was it a satisfactory experience? Are you familiar with our services or products?" Stay alert to negative statements, especially evasive or hesitant replies. Watch carefully for false assumptions, untruths, misconceptions, inaccuracies and potentially damaging rumors. Any of which will need to be corrected, because experience shows they usually lead to negative behaviors.

So, because the obvious objective here is to correct those same untruths, inaccuracies, misconceptions and false assumptions, you now select the specific perception to be altered, and that becomes your public relations goal.

But a PR goal without a strategy to show you how to get there, is like a bratwurst without the onions. That's why you must select one of three strategies especially designed to create perception or opinion where there may be none, or change existing perception, or reinforce it. The challenge here (a small one) is to insure that the goal and its strategy match each other. You wouldn't want to select "change existing perception" when current perception is just right suggesting a "reinforce" strategy.

Now it's your writer's turn to prepare a compelling message carefully designed to alter your key target audience's perception, as called for by your public relations goal.

It may be that combining your corrective message with another newsworthy announcement of a new product, service or employee will lend more credibility by not overemphasizing the correction.

The new message must be very clear about what perception needs clarification or correction, and why. Your facts must be truthful and your position must be logically explained and believable if it is to hold the attention of members of that target audience, and actually move perception in your direction. In other words, your message must be compelling.

Now you select your "beasts of burden," the communications tactics you will harness to carry your persuasive new thoughts to the attention of that external audience.

Luckily, the list of tactics is a long one. It includes letters- to-the-editor, brochures, press releases and speeches. Or, you might select radio and newspaper interviews, personal contacts, facility tours or customer briefings. There are dozens in waiting and the only selection requirement is that those you choose have a record of reaching people just like the members of your key target audience.

Those around you will soon inquire if any progress is being made. Of course you'll already be hard at work remonitoring perceptions among your target audience members. Using questions similar to those used during your earlier monitoring session, you will now look carefully for indications that audience perceptions are beginning to move the way you want them to move..

Happily, you can always speed up the process by adding more communications tactics, AND by increasing their frequencies.

But, as this article suggests, building your PR playbook around communications tactics is self-defeating. Instead, use your tactics as originally intended, to carry messages. What must come first is an aggressive public relations plan such as that outlined above that targets key stakeholder behavior change leading directly to achieving your department, division or subsidiary objectives.

end