Summary

This article is intended to communicate the intricacies of the home inspection industry in the opinion of a CLOSER look home inspections. It explores the purpose of an inspection in a real estate transaction, the value of a home inspection, and how we apply the real estate culture of Springfield, Missouri to our service offering.

Sections on this page

• Definition of a home inspection
• Where do home inspectors fit into my deal?
• What do home inspectors look at?
• What do home inspectors consider to be a problem?

Definition of a home inspection

Most people do not know the clear differences between a home inspection, home warranty, and an appraisal. Not that it is hard to know, but most people are not in the real estate industry so they have never had any occasion to study this topic. It is usually discovered when you have an expectation that you’re getting a service that you really aren’t, but when you count on it being there later – it isn’t!

a CLOSER look home inspections is a company that works hard to help you understand what you get before you get it, so there is less of a chance of missed expectations later. We hope that you find this information useful, and if you have any comments or suggestions – please leave them in the reply field below. I guess we should start out by giving you a working definition of what a home inspection is:

A home inspection is an in-depth visual inspection of the accessible components of a property for the purpose of assessing their condition.

This means that we don’t see through walls, but are highly trained to evaluate all visible clues of defects in a property that can be harmful. It is important to note that a home inspectors job is not to find all problems with a property. That is not actually possible as inspectors can only inspect what they can see. If a problem exists inside a wall with no visible clues, it will not be covered as a part of a home inspection service. However, the good news is that a vast majority of problems have some form of visible, detectable or testable clue that can lead a good home inspector to conclude there is a problem.

Where do home inspectors fit into my deal?

This is a very good question, and not usually discussed specifically. We use a great analogy that helps people understand what a home inspector is in a real estate transaction and when they are necessary.

When you don’t feel well, you probably have a drill down of things you go through to find out what will make you feel better. Mine is that I get onto the internet and do a little personal research. After reading all of the horror stories and I am good and FREAKED OUT thinking I have something major – I go to step two. I ask my mom! Yeah I know it might be lame, but she has patched me up my whole life so – there it is. If she doesn’t know, it is time for step three. I go see a doctor, but not just any doctor. I go to a General Practitioner. Now this is a generalist, in that they don’t know each and every area of the body as well as a specialist. However, they are highly trained and educated in the evaluation of the human body as an entire system.

A General Practitioner can determine what is not right and either prescribe a fix or refer you to a specialist. There is a large set of common ailments that fall within the scope and expertise of a General Practitioner to diagnose and offer a treatment. Would you go to a pediatrist, cardio-vascular surgeon, neurologist, and a gastroenterologist if you were feeling ill? Actually – that even sounds a little absurd. Most people would go to the GP first and if a problem is outside of their scope, the GP refers to a specialist in the correct system of the body. The specialist then evaluates that one system and offers a more in-depth opinion as to the problem. This is the value of the GP. They are the ones who know when to fix, when to refer and to whom to refer.

The value in the inspector is that a majority of all problems in a home can be found by one person, at one time, for one low fee.

Home inspectors fit into a real estate transaction in the exact same way. They are the general practitioners. The value and reason to use a home inspector is so that you can have a single person inspect every system in a home. Your home inspector can determine what is not right with a home and either prescribe a repair or refer you to the appropriate specialist. Just like the GP, there is a large set of common problems in a house that are in the scope and training of a home inspector to prescribe a repair. In these cases, a good inspector will simply state the problem and recommend the fix. However, sometimes the problem is outside the scope of their expertise and they would refer you to an appropriate specialist.
You can read a more in-depth article on the difference between a generalists opinion, specialists opinion and fact as it applys to real estate here

What do home inspectors look at?

To answer this, you first need to know that home inspectors are not licensed in the state of Missouri. Missouri House Bill 2057 has entered the legislature again to add regulation to this industry, but as of the writing of this post – no regulation exists. In this state, professional inspectors rely on the code of ethics, continuing education requirements and standards of practice of national home inspector associations to maintain credibility. There are many around, but really only three to speak of – and they are ASHI, NAHI and iNACHI. The inspectors at a CLOSER look home inspections are members of the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (iNACHI).

We at a CLOSER look home inspections highly recommend that you only choose inspectors who are members of a major national association

Now to answer the question, home inspectors in Missouri evaluate the systems that comprise a property based on the standards of practice of their national association. iNACHI standards of practice can be found here, and they dictate what must be inspected and reported on as well as what is not required to be inspected. Generally, an inspector looks at the grading and drainage around the house for signs of adverse water conditions affecting the house. They will look at everything connected to the exterior of the house and then evaluate the roof. Inspectors are not required to put themselves in physical danger during the inspection, so they may not actually walk on the roof if it is unsafe (due to ice or snow, rain, height, pitch, etc). However, they will look at the roof covering, any penetrations and the flashings. An inspector will then operate and visually inspect the major utilities in the house.

They will run the furnace and air conditioner (if the outside temperature is above roughly 60 degrees), inspect the electrical panel and the water heater. Your inspector will then visually evaluate the interior of the home for structural problems, operate windows, doors, lights and receptacles for proper operation. Most inspectors will operate any built-in appliances, evaluate the visible components of a fireplace, and check for minimum safety device installation (such as handrails, smoke detectors, etc). Finally, your inspector will crawl into your crawlspace or walk in the basement and inspect the floor structure and foundation of the house. As you can see, a home inspector looks over every visible inch of your property and surrounding area to determine if there are any adverse conditions present with the property.

What do home inspectors consider to be a problem?

This is where your inspectors will differ greatly. Everyone has their own style and set of important criteria to measure against. a CLOSER look home inspections has the philosophy that we are hired to evaluate a property in order to give you enough information to make a good purchase decision. We are very much consultants and NOT THE HOUSE POLICE.

In Springfield MO, homes are sold under the GSBOR real estate contract. This contract stipulates the difference between a material defect and everything else. It says (in section 9) that a buyer has the right to renegotiate the purchase contract based on the discovery of material defects only and not simple maintenance, cosmetic issues, or any other condition. Well who has the expertise to define defects as “material” in a real estate deal? Well your handy dandy Dr. Inspector of course. Our philosophy (which differs from our competitors) is that since you have already entered into a legal contract to purchase a home before you ever call us and that contract places importance on “material defects”, we should clearly define what in our opinion constitutes a material defect right in the report.

All defects in our report are labeled specifically as “Material Defects”, “Maintenance Recommendations”, and then just information. This lets you know very clearly what is a material defects in the opinion of the inspector. Now what exactly is that? That is a little tough as the GSBOR contract is pretty vague on the definition of material defect. It states (below is paraphrased):

“A material defect is any condition that would materially affect a prudent person’s decision to complete the real estate transaction”

How does an inspector use that to determine a material defect? Well there is a fair amount of latitude, but a CLOSER look home inspections considers anything to be a material defect if it falls into one of these three categories:

• Safety – meaning any shock hazard, fire hazard, or personal injury hazard. These are things like missing handrails, missing or damaged smoke detectors, overloaded electrical panel, etc and are regardless of cost.
• Damage – meaning any major damage, as opposed to normal wear and tear. These are things like termite damage, any active water leak, hail damage, floor or roof structure problems, etc.
• Money – meaning anything in a property that is broken or in need of repair, and the cost in itself is enough to take into consideration in your real estate transaction.

I frequently run into situations where I am asked to provide information that is out of the scope of a traditional home inspection. Things that specialists do. Yet it seems that there is a grey line as to where that is and what that means. This grey line exists for those of us who are in the industry, so I can only imagine the confusion for people who are not in the industry. People who just want to know what a home inspection is and what to expect from one. I wanted to take the time to answer some very common questions that I receive on this subject. Some of these are actual questions and others are crafted from many related questions in order to give you the whole answer. Wait a minute – I just gave you the first topic when I said specialists above.

“I did hire a specialist to inspect my house, right?”

Generalist Opinions

The answer to that is, “Not exactly!”

Let me explain a bit using a very well understood analogy. The human body is an amalgamation of many different systems that all work together. The system is so complex that no one person can fully understand the whole thing, so the profession has been split into many different types. Which one do you go to first when you feel bad? Do you go to a neurosergeon to find out why you have a headache?Of course not, you go to a General Practitioner (your family doctor). This doctor is a highly trained generalist, who knows every system of the human body. Their value is in the fact that they can tell you when something is not right. Now – after you go to your GP and they say there is a problem in your back causing those headaches – where will they send you? That’s right – they will refer you to a specialist in that area. This is exactly how to think of a certified home inspector. We are trained in every system in a home and tell you when something is not right.

“My inspector didn’t refer me to anyone else, he told me to fix the problem. Is that what they are supposed to do?”

Certainly! General Practitioner doctors can prescribe medications. Why? Well, there is an entire set of human illnesses that are common and within the training and expertise for a GP to diagnose and treat. A good GP will not send you to a specialist unless the problem is beyond the scope of their general expertise. A home inspector is the same within their industry. With regards to real estate, most problems with homes fall into the set of common issues that are within the scope of a home inspector to both diagnose and prescribe a repair. Not every problem is like this and you may find that a home inspector will refer you to a specialist. However, a good home inspector will not simply refer you to a specialist in every home system, but will give you a diagnosis and repair prescription for every problem in the scope of their generalist role.

Inherent in this topic is the value proposition for a home inspector. It is cheaper, easier, and faster to hire a generalist home inspector to evaluate your home than it is to hire a specialist in every category. An HVAC tech, plumber, electrician, roofer, foundation contractor, grading and drainage specialist, etc all come with separate fees, separate trips that require access to the property and separate time frames for releasing reports. Why go through that (at anywhere between $500-$1500), when most problems in a home can be discovered during on 2-3 hour home inspection at an average cost of around $300?

“My inspector referred an electrician to evaluate my electrical panel, but when the electrician saw the panel they said there wasn’t a problem. Who is right?”

Specialist Opinions

The answer to this is, “The Specialist!”

This is a very understandable dilemma that sellers, agents and buyers can all find themselves in at some point. This is the difference between a generalist and a specialist. Now we have talked already about what a generalist is, but we have not talked about a specialist. Although it may be well understood, a specialist is a person that has extensive training and expertise in a single system. These are the people who should know all there is to know about that system. Note that a generalist and a specialist both offer their opinions. These opinions are based on their education and work experience. Generalists do not have the depth of knowledge of a single system that a specialist has, and for that reason the specialist’s opinion is considered to be more “valid” than the generalist’s opinion. This is true in every industry, including real estate.

Many times a generalist will note a problem or a condition that may be harmful, but it will take a specialist to determine the harm. This is mostly when I have run into this situation and it usually results from difference in local building practices. No one in this case is necessarily “right”, but the specialist’s opinion is more “valid” than the generalist’s opinion when dealing with real estate.

“I had a radon inspection performed and the level was high. Is the seller required install a radon mitigation system?”

Facts

Facts are hard to dispute!

Excellent question. This one was actually a conglomerate of a bunch of very similar questions that deal with “fact”. My company is a CLOSER look, inc in Springfield, Missouri, and we perform radon concentration analyses using Air Chek professional radon test kits. You can read about a CLOSER look home inspection radon policies for information on how we perform and interpret radon measurements or why a CLOSER look home inspection uses Air Chek kits instead of CRM (radon) machines. This is background reading (both are short reads) for this section. The answer to the above question is still, “No, they are not required to repair the house.”, but there is a little more pressure on this this type of problem than others. Remember earlier that both generalists and specialists offer opinions? Well – laboratories offer facts! One of the reasons sellers can refuse to make repairs on things in their house is because opinions can be refuted or contradicted. Facts on the other hand, can not. Air Chek is an EPA certified laboratory and uses some pretty high tech gadgets to determine the level of radon in their test kits. They are also required to certify their test equipment and maintain regular calibrations. When they release a radon report, it documents the level of radon found in each packet – period. This is not an opinion it is a fact. CRM (continuous radon monitors) that are used by some inspectors are not as definitive in their results. Read the above link to find out why!

Although there is no law in southwest Missouri that requires a seller to repair their house for radon, facts are much harder to wiggle out of than opinions. Additionally, this would be an issue that law would require a seller to update their seller’s disclosure statement to accommodate. This is also a bargaining chip that buyers can use to facilitate a repair request. This use of “fact” over opinion is also used in mold inspections as the inspector takes samples that are sent to a laboratory for analysis.

The mantra to remember is:

“Fact, trumps Specialist opinions, trumps Generalist opinions”

I hope that I have helped to answer some of your questions regarding these issues. I am always available to answer other industry questions. You are welcome to email them to inspectors@aclhi.com.

Sincerely,

Sean A. O’Rear
a CLOSER look home inspections
(417) 890-8500

You should note that I am a working home inspector in Springfield, Missouri. I am not a lawyer and the information in this article is not valid legal advise. It is merely an attempt to answer questions that I have experienced in the last 5 years as an inspector. Additionally, the real estate opinions in this article are based on the real estate customs and contract in the Springfield, MO and may differ in other parts of the country.