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Home Works Inspection Services
IF YOU ARE BUYING A HOME, YOU NEED A PROFESSIONAL CAPHI HOME INSPECTION .
5b. What is a certified home inspector?
A good question. Unfortunately, the term certified has been so widely used and abused that it currently means little or nothing. It
definitely doesn't tell you anything about the quality of the home inspector or whether or not the inspector has any professionally
recognized credentials.
In Canada, all professionally recognized home inspectors are members of the Canadian Association of Home &
Property Inspectors (CAHPI) and/or are National Certificate Holders (a federal designation owned by CAHPI).
Be especially wary of any inspector who also offers to do the work for you, "suggested" in their report. Likewise, exercise extreme
concern with any inspector who does a simple or brief walk through the home as an inspection or who refuses to provide a detailed
written report.
In brief, for your inspection to be valuable, you will require:
- an inspector who is specifically trained to inspect all major home systems
- an inspector who will inspect all accessible areas of the
home including going on roofs (if reasonably accessible), into basements and crawl spaces, and into attics
- an inspector who is completely objective in the inspection, that is the professional inspector:
- presents no conflict of interest
- does not "gain additional work" in repair or modification services as a result of the inspection
- does not receive kick-backs or commissions from the agent or vendor when a home "passes" or receives a good report
- a detailed report of the findings of the inspection
- that the inspector invite you along on the inspection, agree to explain his/her findings, and answer your questions.
Generally no. Despite having to take many of the same courses as building inspectors, home inspectors are usually not hired
to inspect for code compliance. Therefore, rather than quote code (often of little importance or interest to clients requesting a
home inspection), the professional home inspector concentrates on whether or not a system is performing the function for which it
was intended. Also, the inspector will look for safety concerns and point out to clients where modifications or additions could be
made to provide for a safer and more comfortable living environment.
It is disappointing that a few real estate agents, in their attempts
to place home inspectors in a bad light, will falsely claim that home inspectors are doing code inspections on an older home,
to which the code doesn't apply. This kind of statement is simply an intended derogatory remark at best, and tells more about the
agent than the inspector.
You never know who you will meet in this business.
Dale & Mike in Calgary (2006)
Probably this could be best answered by a good contractor. However, as any reputable contractor will tell you, most contractors are
specialists, that is they specialize in a particular field. Masons do masonry work, electricians do electrical work, carpenters specialize
in the wooden structures of the home, and so forth.
Even general contractors hire sub-contractors to do the work in specialized areas like heating, air conditioning, etc. They don't
try to nor do they claim to be experts in every area.
Likewise, a good home inspector will not profess to be a contractor or take on
engineering or repair work for clients. They are generalists, trained to look at the overall picture and to understand when a system
is not performing properly. Professional home inspectors do not claim to do the job of specialized contractors. Instead, they draw
attention to questionable situations and refer clients to the necessary specialists in the field for further evaluation or repair.