What do Realtors look for in a home inspector?

We are all in this industry together! I think it would be safe to say that most home buyers opt for a home inspection as part of the contract.

My question is: What do you look for in a home inspection company?

Do you provide your clients with options? Do you tell them to open the phone book or Google? Or do you refer them to one you're comfortable with?I feel it is important that, however you do it, you refer them to one who is trained and certified. Since there are no regulations on home inspections and no licensing requirements for home inspectors in Iowa it is important that you choose an inspector that is a member of a national inspection association. By doing this, you will be referring your client to an inspector that cares about their business and how they conduct their business. National inspection associations such as NACHI, NAHI and ASHI are the big three you should be looking for. Each have a Standards of Practice that they follow and each are very similar. Choosing an inspector solely based on price and who is not a member of an association could be a big mistake. Who's Standards are they inspecting by? Every inspector should be inspecting under nationally recognized Standards of Practice.

Since most inspectors work for themselves as a small business, personal integrity is important. Are they spending the necessary amount of time at the property? Do they have the clients best interests in mind? As I am sure there are Realtors out there that refer a particular home inspector because his reports don't "kill deals". I'm sure there are Inspectors out there that will conform to that way of thinking just to retain referrals from those Realtors. The proper way of think on this is: if an Inspector finds a significant problem in a home and reports that problem as a major issue and the buyer backs out of the deal, there are other houses out there. Realtors put a lot of time and effort into narrowing down the options for their clients and what a disappointment when you think you have the perfect house picked out and there ends up being a major deal breaking issue. A home inspector should be writing their reports in a way to describe the issues correctly and emphasizing the importance of repairing or replacing without "scaring" the client. Any Realtor I have come in contact with seems to have the clients best interests in mind.

I take my business very seriously and I am very interested in finding out what some of your thoughts are on this subject.

Thanks for your time!

Scott Hand of Integrity Home Inspections.

www.inspectintegrity.com