Hi Maria,

All the answers provide good information. After receiving some names of home inspectors from your Realtor, you should find out if the inspector is a member of ASHI-the American Society of Home Inspectors. or NAHI-the National Association of Home Inspectors. Both NAHI and ASHI have a websites that you can check out . These sites should provide you with the useful information.

Also, you might want to ask a friend who recently purchased a home who did their home inspection. Find out if they were happy or unhappy about the service provided by the home inspector. Ask for their reasons.

When you call any home inspector, ask them what is covered in the home inspection, how long does it usually take, what type of report you will receive and how quickly you will recieve the report (very important if you are on a tight home inspection period).

Good luck!
Martha Dahan, Realtor
Weichert Realtors, Jenkintown
93 Old York Rd
Jenkintown, PA 19046
(215)885-8100 ext 191

Sorry, I just reread my reply and realized that I discounted asking your Realtor for names as a good starting point for research! Most Realtors have seen dozens of inspectors and have a good feel for some of the best -they are a good source of information!

Sorry for the oversight!

First, let me disclose that I am a home inspector.

Many clients ask their Realtors for a few referrals and call them to interview them. Still others have success using sites like Angie's List or other similar services that allow members/customers to leave reviews of the inspector.

The real answer is the best way is to do some research online and inerview them.

I offer some advice for questions you will want to ask in a blog I posted some time ago: http://www.trulia.com/blog/joe_michalski/2008/12/how_to_hire…

In the end, you want someone experienced who is willing to take time to answer your questions and treat the inspection as a chance to help you learn about your home. Believe it or not, many inspectors treat clients as if they are annoyances, giving them measuring tapes and graph paper or some other distractions so they "won't be bothered" during the inspection. I can't think of a more wrong-minded approach - and you want to make sure that your inspector will walk with and talk to you about the home and your concerns. He/she should offer helpful maintenance tips, explain what thay are looking at/for and give you an accurate idea of the condition of the home and its systems, as well as potential remaining useful life for key things like the furnace, roof, AC, water heater, etc.

And finally, prices are irrelevant in this process. Some of the best inspectors are less expensive, while many of the newbies are taught to overprice so they look more "legitimate." To anyone who counsels you that you get what you pay for, ask them if the drive around to buy their gas at the most expensive station (that one must be the best, right?) Experience and professionalism are the best barometers, and if some inspectors haven't raised prices in over 6 years( tooting my own horn here) it's probably because they haven't needed to (I'm too busy to consider changing a successful formula).

Hope that helps!

Either contact your buyer agent or refer to State website



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Lynn911

Your realtor will be able to recommend a few home inspectors. Respect your realtors advice and experience. They are trained to keep your best interests in mind in all aspects of your transaction from beginnning to the closing.

Hi Maria

Ask you Realtor to recommend three Inspectors. Ask the Inspectors to send a sample page or two from one of their home reports. Inspectors use different types of reports. Some take photos and give very detailed information, others are just brief written reports. Some Inspectors do their reports on the spot and print them out at the end of the inspection. Some have several days for turn around. I have seen 100+ page reports and 10 page reports. You need to decide what your preference is.

good luck!

Hi Marina,

How are you? My company uses a couple of home inspection companies and I could recommend a couple that I've referred to my buyers in the past. The inspector does a very thorough job and always keeps to their appointment and arrive early on their scheduled appointments. If you're interested in getting more information, please feel free to email me at Phong.Lam@c21ag.com or call me at (267) 918-1880.

Have a great day!

Sincerely,
Phong Lam
REALTOR®
CENTURY 21 Advantage Gold
2010 Oregon Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19145
Business: (215) 465-1400, ext. 508
Fax: (215) 336-7793
Mobile: (267) 918-1880
Phong.Lam@c21ag.com
http://www.c21ag.com