Peace of Mind for Home Inspections: Choose the Right Inspector!

As sure as the spring flows at The Fountain of Youth, home inspecting provides a stream of knowledge to wash away the fears of home buyers. But fear may be replaced by frustration if the wrong inspector is chosen! Some pointers on selecting your next home inspector will go a long way toward making the process a happy one.

• Be sure to ask how long the inspector has been in the inspection business. Longevity gives comfort that the company will be with you in the future as new needs and issues arise.
  
• How many inspections has the inspector personally performed? This is important! An inspector may have been in business for 5 years but inspected less than a dozen homes. Your home buying decision is far too important to be a practice place for a part-time inspector.
  
• Confirm that your inspector has experience in homes similar to the home you are having inspected. All homes have some systems and features in common, but new home in Eagle Harbor has risks and issues that differ from an historic beauty in St. Augustine. Only someone who has walked the walk and crawled the crawl numerous times in similar homes can sleuth out those important items.
  
• Did the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) certify the inspector? In Florida, the business of home inspection is unregulated. This makes it especially important to verify professional credentials and experiences before making a selection.
  
• Ask when the report will be delivered. Often the buying decision is time critical, you want to be sure you will receive your completed report in time to read, review, and respond. The best companies can deliver the report to you right at the home as the inspection is completed.
  
• Does the completed report include photographs? Often the report will contain descriptions of damage or defect in locations of the home that only the inspector was able to access, like rooftops or crawl spaces. You will want pictures of these areas to make your understanding of the scope and location of the damage clear. It also makes repairs simpler to get estimated when a photograph is available.

Lastly, be sure to attend the home inspection, watch the process, and ask lots of questions - the history of your home will unfold before your very eyes! St. Johns County, as well as the rest of our beautiful area, is rich in homes and heritage, and your home inspector can help you to know the past and enjoy the future in your new home.

Copyright © Florida HomePro, Inc. and Wallace J. Conway. All rights in all media reserved.

About the Author: Wally Conway is President of Florida HomePro Inspections, and is featured regularly on HGTV's "House Detective". As a speaker, writer, instructor, and host of The Happy Home Inspector radio show every Saturday at 5 PM on WOKV 690, Wally blends the right amount of up-to-date information with just the right amount of humor, insight, motivation, and real-world application. Visit http://www.wallyconway.com and http://www.gohomepro.com for more information!

AFP - Speculation about the stressed financial health of US mortgage-finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac swirled Wednesday as their share prices further plummeted.

Reuters - Shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac dove to their lowest levels in more than 18 years on mounting fears of a government bailout that would wipe out shareholders of the two U.S. housing finance giants.

AP - Shares of mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continued their plunge Wednesday as investors are increasingly convinced that the stocks will drop to zero if the government bails out the troubled companies.

AP - Mortgage application volume fell last week to its lowest levels in nearly eight years, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday.

Reuters - A growing number of U.S. adults are struggling to pay their medical bills, tapping into savings accounts, home equity and credit cards to cover health care costs, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

Reuters - Most Americans think that the worst of the fuel price spike that pushed gasoline above $4 per gallon has passed, but they have little hope that the housing market will stage a swift recovery, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

AP - As mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac struggle with continuing credit losses, their ability to raise needed capital is uncertain and, analysts say, is complicated by the possibility of a government bailout of the two companies.

AP - California homebuyers sprung to life in July, pouncing on foreclosed homes and deeply discounted properties but largely ignoring pricier homes that have been languishing on the market, a research firm said Tuesday.

AFP - The euro rebounded from six-month lows against the dollar after a spike in inflation and weak US housing market figures stoked fresh concerns about the US economy.

Reuters - U.S. wholesale prices shot up in July at the fastest annual rate in 27 years, while home builders cut back on construction as they worked through a glut of unsold homes, government data showed on Tuesday.

AFP - Investments in the bonds of struggling US home-loan financers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have earned Russia more than a billion dollars in the past six months, press reports said Tuesday.

AFP - The euro rebounded from six-month lows against the dollar after weak US housing market figures stoked fresh concerns over the outlook for the US economy.

AP - The Home Depot Inc. said Tuesday that its second-quarter profit sank 24 percent and reiterated its downbeat outlook for the year amid a weak housing market that shows no signs of recovery.

AP - Whether or not the government is actually on the verge of taking over mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, investor fears that a bailout is imminent could turn such a worst-case scenario into reality.

AP - In the mortgage industry, they are called "liar loans" — mortgages approved without requiring proof of the borrower's income or assets. The worst of them earn the nickname "ninja loans," short for "no income, no job, and (no) assets."

Reuters - Investors dumped shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Monday after a newspaper report said government officials may have no choice but to effectively nationalize the U.S. housing finance titans.