What does a home inspector do?  Home inspectors will conduct a thorough examination of your home to detect any potential systems or components that require attention.   These inspections are required before the closure of every real estate transaction. A detailed inspection usually takes 2 to 3 hours or longer, depending on your home’s age and square footage. You'll need to set up a time for your inspection so you can be present to ask questions and look at areas needing maintenance or repair.

It is estimated that most people (almost 80%) have their homes inspected prior to purchase and that, of that 80%, only about 10% actually inspect and research the inspector that they hire.  We've all seen those hidden-camera stories of home inspectors missing major defects, glossing over major problems or finding problems that they then offer to fix (for a charge, of course).  How do you know that you are not going to be taken advantage of and left liable by your inspector?

Since the industry isn't closely regulated, it is important to make sure your home inspector is well trained and insured, especially since you are relying on the home inspector's professional assessment to help decide on the biggest investment of your life. To help make sure your professional home inspector is just that -- "professional" -- the National Institute of Building Inspectors (NIBI), a leading home inspection training organization, offers the following tips to help "inspect your inspector:"

Make sure your inspector has proper training and technical support: training in all aspects of home inspection and ongoing support for questions and changes in residential construction techniques and systems.

Certification: You inspector should have proof of certification by a reputable training institute (which requires re-testing annually) such as the National Institute of Building Inspectors (NIBI).

Insurance: You should ask about the inspectors insurance coverage, including general liability, worker’s compensation and especially E and O (Errors and Omissions) insurance.  E and O insurance is is comparable to malpractice insurance.  NIBI is one of the few residential inspection training facilities that requires all its certified members to carry E & O.  If you find an inspector who does not carry this type of insurance, then it is usually an indication that the inspector has had no formal training or has a poor track record in the industry.

Get a guarantee: A qualified inspector should be willing to provide a written guarantee to back up his inspection findings.  This is very important.

Avoid a conflict of interest: A professional home inspector should be just that - a home inspector.   Avoid part-time inspectors who are also contractors.  The inspector could be using his findings to feed his contracting job since every home defect found presents an opportunity for them to offer a repair.