One of the most necessary, if not crucial, steps you need to take is to hire a building inspector before purchasing a house. The reason for hiring a building inspector is pretty obvious; they can inspect the property, detect any existing problems, and inform you about them, so you’ll know what you are getting yourself into. It also helps you decide whether or not the property is worth it. Nevertheless, it is important to know that there are hundreds of building inspectors in the market today. To give you absolute peace of mind, hire the right one.
Here are the top qualities you should look for in a building inspector.
- Your building inspector should be meticulous. You can gauge their meticulousness by asking how long the inspection would take. If a building inspector tells you that the average inspection time would be more or less an hour or thirty minutes, then you shouldn’t hire them. Instead of giving you that answer, you should consider someone who would ask about the property, its size, and everything else about it so they can estimate how long the inspection would take. That is your cue that they are meticulous and would want to allocate time depending on your property.
- Your building inspector will let you join them during the inspection. Customers should be allowed to come to the review. This also gives the building inspector the chance to ensure that the client knows everything there is to know about the property.
- Your building inspector can generate a thorough report based on their assessment. After the inspection, your building inspector should develop detailed and accurate information showing all the property’s problems and issues (if there are any). Most customers base their opinion of a building inspector on the report length when looking at the content and how it is written. As a customer, you should expect the report to be detailed, readable, and with photos.
- Your building inspector should be licensed. Before you hire a building inspector, make sure you ask them if they are licensed. It is also worth mentioning that you should ask them if they belong to any national organization since they require a minimum number of inspections before certifying an inspector. At least with this knowledge, you would know if your inspector has had prior experience with property inspections.
- Your building inspector should have adequate experience. Experience is not a prerequisite, but a building inspector with a lot of experience in the industry knows what to look for and the common problems present in a property. This will give them an edge over inexperienced building inspectors.
- Your building inspector has exceptional customer service. You can test a building inspector’s best interest by asking them questions. They should explain their answers in detail and use terms you can understand. It’s also a test of patience since we know you will have many questions. It is their responsibility to answer all your queries.
- Your building inspector should have good reviews. We understand that not everyone is perfect. We all have flaws, but it’s another thing if your building inspector’s website is chockful of negative comments and feedback. You can tell whether a building inspector is a good investment if most of the company’s reviews are positive and good and if their previous customers recommend them.
- Your building inspector has all the tools and equipment needed to conduct a complete and thorough inspection. A pair of observant eyes is insufficient to inspect and evaluate a property. It would help if you had adequate tools needed to ensure that you can generate a detailed and accurate report. It would help if you had electrical circuit analyzers, fuel and gas analyzers, digital cameras, thermal sensors, and moisture meters, among others.
Before you buy a property, whether it’s a house or a building, make sure you seek assistance from a legitimate building inspector and visit their official site to know more about the company and the services they have to offer.
