Price Shopping Can
Be Costly -- Buyer Beware!
Don’t let cost be the deciding vote … the unqualified will always
be cheaper
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Home Inspector’s and their services
are not equal with each other; especially here in Georgia.
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It cost
more in training, time, and equipment to provide a higher level home
inspection designed to protect you. If
you hesitate to hire a professional, consider what it may cost you and
your family down the road.
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Home Inspector’s are not required to be licensed, nor qualified in the State of Georgia.
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The only governing requirements placed on
their industry is the Georgia Trade practice
act, and a county business license. See below....
Georgia Requirements to be a Home
Inspector
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Georgia Trade practice act (Chapter
3, Title 8) enacted in 1994. Georgia law requires
home inspectors to provide written documents containing certain
information with regard to inspections. This written document must
include the scope of the inspection, including the structural
elements and systems to be inspected, that the inspection is a
visual inspection, and that the home inspector will notify, in
writing, the person on whose behalf such inspection is being made of
any defects noted during the inspection. For more information,
contact the Secretary
of State, Construction Industry License Board.
(901) 207-1416 phone (901) 207-1425 fax
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County Law: Requires A $90
- $150 general business license.
Most anyone can meet these qualifications.
There is very little to protect
you from un-qualified home inspectors.
Anyone without training or
experience can be a home inspector in the State of Georgia; this
includes you!
Because of this, there are many unqualified home inspectors in the State of Georgia.
They present an aggressive marketing pitch and may be the one assuring you that your home of choice is ready
for
purchase.
Many
of these low cost and unqualified home inspectors hide behind the logos
of National Home Inspection Associations that have expensive, and
impressive marketing programs.
These associations require only membership dues, and at the most,
simple and unregulated online testing for membership certification.
Unfortunately, anyone joining these Associations will have instant
recognition for certification and credibility.
In the State of Georgia,
it’s up to you, the consumer to protect yourselves from this type of
misleading marketing. This is why our industry asks you to thoroughly
check the background of any home inspector.
A good starting point is finding a home inspector that holds membership
in one of the two most credible home inspection organizations in the
country:
The Georgia Association of Home Inspectors, with its code certification
requirement is the most challenging organization in the country to
obtain membership.
The American Society of Home Inspectors set the industries standards in
1976 on how home inspections should be preformed.
These organizations have very stringent membership requirements that
weed out unqualified inspectors that use convincing marketing skills.
Academic testing and well-proven experience is required.
Starting with candidate memberships, the inspector proves to themselves, and the organization that they are qualified to proudly carry the
name and logo of either the American Society of Home Inspectors or the Georgia
Association of Home Inspectors. Special
committees in these organizations judge their competency for the correct
academic achievements and professional experience.
Between these two organizations, the consumers in the State of Georgia
have good opportunities in choosing a full time qualified, certified and
professional home inspector.
The
most important question to ask your home inspector
When shopping for a home inspection
company, most people, for lack of a better gauge, rely on the price of
the inspection as the determining factor. The majority of the time, the
difference in the fee charged from one company to the next will be $50
to $200. This may seem like a large difference; However, let's put this
in perspective. For many, the purchase of a home is the largest
investment they will ever make. If you were going to invest your life's
savings, would you rely on the "quickest financial advisor
advertising thrift store discounts,
or one that would devote the most time to your investment and have
credible experience? A home
inspection is very similar. You are about to invest tens, or hundreds of
thousands of dollars. An additional fifty or two hundred dollars is an
inconsequential amount of money to spend in order to protect that
investment.
Many home inspectors perform two,
three, or even more inspections in a single day. They can
accomplish this because they spend no more than 1½ to 2 hours on any
single inspection, including report preparation. At Fidelity Home
Inspections, LLC, we take a very different approach. We simply spend as long
as it takes. We are of the opinion that most houses
require a minimum of four hours to inspect. Some homes require
substantially more.
Before you mistakenly trust
your investment to a "production line, discount" company, ask them how
long they will spend performing your inspection.
What
you should know about inspection reports
Many inspection firms utilize a
checklist style report. The inspector checks off a series of boxes, and
scribbles comments in the margins, as he races through the house. At the
end of the inspection, these scrawlings may become your report. Although
this saves the inspector time, these reports are hard to follow and at
times illegible. Our report consists of a narrative style HTML or PDF
format that includes digital photographs of the exterior as well as interior problems
uncovered. Generally, the report ranges from forty to fifty pages in
length, and includes a summary of all findings and a table of contents.
The
Standards of Practice
All of our inspections are performed
in accordance with the Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics of the American
Society of Home Inspectors®.
Don't be misled by claims to adhere to "other" standards.
There are other organizations with similar names and lower standards. ASHI®
is the standard of the industry, and your assurance of a quality
inspection.
