home inspections - Posted by Tom in NE

Posted by frank on January 04, 1999 at 10:12:33:

It really depends who one hires. I have found some pretty good inspectors that are worth their weight in gold. Their trained eyes can tell you things like how much longer is this roof going to hold up. They know the ins and outs and life expectancies of all the systems. I know this because I acquired my license in Texas which (along with California) has the most stringent regulations for Home Inspectors. It’s not only tough getting the license but hard to renew.

If you want to pre-assess the condition of a house, I would recommend maybe ordering some of the forms that these inspection schools offer. They are mostly in checklist format and can be followed when doing a preliminary walk-thru. This should give investors a very general idea of what their getting(depending on the ability of the person doing the walk-thru). However there is no substitute for a good inspectors advice if getting serious about buying. The really good ones have enough construction background to even give you rough idea of how much it’s going to cost to fix everything. Hope this helps

home inspections - Posted by Tom in NE

Posted by Tom in NE on January 03, 1999 at 09:44:03:

I’ve been looking into home inspection courses, mainly to make sure i’m making a sound investment. All the outfits that offer these course’s ( home study, like ICS) say this is a business all by it’s self because many lenders require an inspection before they lend money. I know that is not the case here in Nebraska. I’d like to know if this is true in other parts of the country ? Any and all feedback would be helpful as these course’s aren’t cheap.

Re: home inspections - Posted by Lee

Posted by Lee on January 03, 1999 at 14:11:55:

Carefull, some states require 90 hours or more of classroom training and 250 hours of documentable (they want your reports) experience under a certified inspector.

Check out
http://www.ashi.com The American Society of Home Inspectors inc.
and http://www.creia.com The California Real Estate Inspection Association.

AOL and the web are full of information about home inspection.

Look in the yellow pages for someone that can/ will train you (and to see who your commpetition is.

I’ve never heard of a mortgage company requring an incpection.

I hope that helped.

Lee

Re: home inspections - Posted by JPiper

Posted by JPiper on January 03, 1999 at 13:37:44:

I’m not aware of lenders requiring home inspections.

Lenders require appraisals, a part of which could be that the property meets that particular lenders guidelines, or the guidelines of an insuring or guaranteeing party (like VA or FHA). This is currently done though by the appraiser, not the home inspector.

Lenders require termite inspections. They may require other inspections depending on the appraisal results. Examples might be roof inspections if the roof appeared shot to the appraiser, or structural inspections if a problem was obvious to the appraiser.

Home inspections currently aren’t required by lenders. They are normally recommended by Realtors though. And therefore, home inspectors are doing a thriving business at $200-$300 each in my area. By the way, there is no shortage of home inspectors.

JPiper

Re: home inspections - Posted by Mike (KCMO)

Posted by Mike (KCMO) on January 03, 1999 at 13:22:19:

Tom,

I hired an inspector once just for the education. He didn’t do a thing that the average person couldn’t do with 30 minutes of training. Unless you plan to do this as a business, I would recommend investing in a book or two on the subject before you enroll in an expensive formal class. One way or the other, this is information you will need to evaluate properties.

Mike

Re: home inspections - Posted by Rich

Posted by Rich on January 03, 1999 at 10:09:55:

I would think a prospective buyer anywhere would have the right to have an inspection that looks for such things as termite damage, structural integrity, water problems, etc. Things that the average buyer might not find in a cursory overview. As far as a bank requiring it, they normally require an appraisal which may or may not detect underlying defects. If there’s nobody doing inspections in your area, it might be a good business to start. Locally, there are a few licensed inspectors that charge in the $300 - $500 neighborhood for SFH inspections. They can tell you if you’re about to buy a lemon or a diamond in the rough. As far as schooling, you might check with your state building association and ask them to recommend a good starting point. They may even offer classes. Good luck!