Choosing a Home Inspector
A home inspection is important. It gives you the knowledge you need to make decisions about a home - and knowledge is power. The power to negotiate when you're buying a home, the power to plan for expenses down the road, and the power to protect your home from future problems. It's our job to give you that knowledge, and we want to make sure you get it - even if you don't choose us as your home inspector!
Your Realtor will usually have relationships with a few inspectors that they trust. They're required to give you three recommendations when referring any home professional. We work with hundreds of local Realtors who refer us to their clients.
Here are a few things you should know about choosing a great home inspector:
1. Make sure the home inspection company has full-time W-2 employees. This shows you that the company and its employees are committed to providing a high level of service, that they stand behind their findings and are invested in getting it right.
2. Choose a company that has been in business for awhile. A lot of home inspectors come right out of training and start their own business. We're not saying that a new inspector can't be great, but choose one that has a company with years of experience standing behind them. A company with time and money invested in building a company with integrity is more likely to provide you with a professional, seamless experience, with results you can count on.
3. Home inspectors are required to be licensed by the state of Texas. You can check on your inspector's license on the Texas Real Estate Commission's website. All licensed home inspectors should display their license number on their business cards, website, social media, etc.
4. Choose an inspector that guarantees the time of report delivery. In the DFW area, you usually have a limited time during your option period to receive results and be able to make decisions. A good company will provide the report within 24 hours.
5. Take a look at some sample reports to make sure you know what you're getting. Some low cost inspectors do a bare-minimum, checklist style report that doesn't go in-depth into the systems of the house; others have a ton of excess wording and pad the report to make it look impressive. A good, thorough report should be between 20-40 pages and include pictures for your reference. At Green Scene, we take it a step further and provide a video summary with every inspection. See a sample video here.
Have questions about choosing a home inspector in the Dallas- Fort Worth area? Contact us here, or give us a call at 214.796.7707. We're here to help!
