How to Avoid Home Inspector Fraud

So I’m going to brag: I can build and fix just about anything. I was in the trades for a good portion of my young adult life and have worked with every material from concrete in a foundation to shingles on a roof and almost every kind of wood and pipe in between. So if I was to inspect your home I’d have a pretty good sense for what to look out for. But you don’t need to be an expert in construction or a certified home inspector to recognize a red flag.

Part of the problem is home inspectors are like hairdressers: sometimes they do a good job and other times they cut your ear. And like a hairdresser, home inspectors get a little complacent and sometimes they don’t care so much, which affects you in negative ways. But the reality is that home inspectors don’t really inspect a home for the reasons you’d think. Most home inspectors are not experts in anything and work off a checklist provided by their companies to alert the home owner of the fundamentals.

In an inspection expect to be notified that certain things exist such as there is a tub in the bathroom and that it was inspected and that water is flowing to it. If it needs repair then that would be noted. With binoculars they would give an estimate of how old the roof shingles might be and a brief evaluation of their condition.

But when it gets down to the finite details about what condition the heating system is in and how much life it has left, you may or may not get an inspector who knows what he is talking about. He might notice that the boiler is rotting and it might have a year or a day before it lets go, or he might not notice it at all. This simple observance or lack of observance can cost upwards of $5,000.00 or more. 

If you want to get deep into a home inspection then hire home contractors who specialize in HVAC, plumbing, pest control, mold, foundations, and general home construction. When making one of the biggest financial decisions of your life, make an informed decision.

Robert Siciliano personal and home security specialist to Home Security Source discussing identity theft on YouTube. Disclosures.

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