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Originally Posted by StirCrazy
ah, but like anything else it is up to you to do you homework when hiring a inspector. I have seen bad ones and I have seen a few good ones.
what trade should he be? if he is plumbing and heating great... to bad he would be able to tell you about the electrical or structure.. its a tough call for this one... I think General contractor is the only thing that should be a pre requisit..
you can traly regulate it any harder althought I would like to but realy what is the home inspector... he is only some one who is giving you a non bias opinion on what you could do your self.
I interviewed 7 befor I decided on one.. was he perfect.. nope but I knew the areas he didn't.. and he was a contractor for over 20 years then a city inpsector for 10.. Hiring a tradesman isn't any better either. it is a crap game that ways also as there are so many tradesmen that realy shouldn't be in the trade as they don't care or don't know.. when it comes down to it bad tradesmen are the reason we need home inspectors..
Steve
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Very well said and with respect to my own experience, I do not regret using a home inspector either. Every situation is unique and there are good, better and best individuals & companies in all aspects of our daily lives. If you're buying a newer home still under warranty, I don't really see the point of getting tradesmen, architects or even engineers involved in looking at your prospective dwelling, a little overkill IMO, besides, who has that kind of money to spend?
I bought an older home (1959-60 ish) and used the Home Inspection company recommended by my real estate agent. I didn't have a lot of time to pick and choose since I was on a tight timeline on a house hunting trip from back east. I had a week to view homes, make a decision, get an inspection, make an offer, etc etc etc. This was 2004 in the middle of the building boom here in the North Okanagan and finding tradesmen for each aspect would have been a nightmare & taken forever. Again, I was very satisfied with the job the home inspector did, he provided more than enough information for me to be comfortable in making an offer and ultimately purchasing the home. Did he miss things, sure he did but the only way to find every possible problem would be to literally tear the home apart which makes no sense. You can only do so much in one day. Being somewhat knowledgeable with regard to electrical stuff, I was able to pretty much case that part on my own, and believe me, there were some scary things the previous homeowners had going on. The inspector checked all the outlets and pointed out a number of them that were not grounded. I know, you can buy the little plug in testers and do this yourself, but the point is, he was sufficiently knowledgeable and had the tools to check out the critical systems in the home.
This is my second time around purchasing real estate, the first time in Ottawa, I was fortunate to have rented the condo for a year before buying it. That's probably one of the best home inspections you can have. After living in a place for a year you know what's good and bad without needing any external assistance.
Whew... anyhow, best of luck to anyone buying a home, your situation will differ, as Steve said, do your homework & research, to do this, plan ahead for extra time, which I did not have the luxury of.