Home Inspection Training

Home Inspection Training

 

ALL students that start a home inspection training program believe they are there to learn about the house.  Some know that they need to be trained how to inspect a house. Few know they need to learn how to report on the house.  All students (even those who arrive from related businesses like construction or real estate sales) are unaware that much of the subtle but very real training of how to be a competent home inspector involves learning the relationships between all the different players involved in the real estate transaction (or sale and purchase of a house).

The players are: The buyer; the seller; the buyer’s attorney; the seller’s attorney; the buyer’s realtor; the seller’s realtor; the real estate brokers; the contractors and vendors that provide quotes, and the home inspector.  Each of these players has a different take, perspective, and motivation regarding the transaction; each has different terminology describing what is happening and what needs to be done during this complex process.  Many times misunderstanding about what one another’s job entails and confusion about terminology leads to bad feelings, damaged reputations and can even kill deals.

For example, I just got off of the phone with a client whose attorney was questioning if I had performed mold testing.  My client became concerned because he now thought that because the attorney asked for a mold test that it must be a standard service that I neglected to perform.  I am not aware if this attorney is a specialist in real estate law, but his misunderstanding about the scope of a home inspection has raised doubts in my client about my inspection.  In the attorney’s effort to protect his client he questioned my thoroughness.  If this attorney knew that the home inspector can only point out what appears to be mold-like substances during the inspection, and recommend a mold specialist come for further testing and recommendations about the possible need for remediation, he would not have put me in the awkward position of explaining his error. 

The attorney could have thoroughly read my report as part of his service.  My report clearly stated that at the time of my inspection of the attic I found no indication of any mold-like substance or conditions to support its growth.  I also included a disclaimer stating ‘…that this is not a mold inspection …and only a mold specialist can determine the presence of mold and make recommendations…’

My answer to the client who called about the mold “test” was, “No, I did not recommend that you have a mold test performed because I found no mold-like substance during the home inspection.  I then explained to the client that mold is everywhere and on every surface, but what we are looking for is visible evidence of a substance that may appear to be a colony of mold.  If we find that, we then call out the mold specialist to determine the cost of treatment and of remediation.  The attorney really did not understand the difference between a mold test and that part of a home inspection that may report evidence of what appears to be mold.

Only experience teaches the inspector all of the subtle intricacies of home inspection and how the needs of each of the different players is intertwined and involved.  This is only one of the reasons why I don’t believe anyone can learn this business in a program that meets four days a week over a three week period.  It takes time to understand the roles of each of the players and what they need to do to perform their job.  The home inspector is the expert in his area and has done this hundreds, and possibly thousands, of times.  It is incumbent upon him to be able to explain the process to the buyer since, in the end, protecting the buyer is our main objective.