You have found your dream house, worked through the financing and your offer was accepted. Now what? It times to get your home inspected by a Qualified NJ Home Inspector but how do you go about choosing a Home Inspector in NJ? It’s not as daunting as it seems, there are plenty of good qualified home inspectors in the marketplace.
Some of the important items that you should weigh when choosing a home inspector or a New Jersey Home Inspection Company:
Licensing and Commitment to Continuing Education:
Some states require home inspectors be professionally licensed. If your state has a licensing law it most likely will also have continuing education requirements for home inspectors. Before you hire a home inspector make sure that they are properly licensed. You can check a home inspector’s license by contacting your states attorneys general’s office. You want to make sure that the license is in good standing at the inspector has met all of the educational requirements to maintain his or her license. Here in New Jersey certified home inspectors must be state licensed and are required to take continuing education credits yearly to maintain their various licenses.
Experience:
During your phone conversation ask the inspectors about their level of experience. Years of inspection experience may be misleading because some inspectors in NJ work part time and others just don’t perform that many home inspections in a given year. Ask the inspector how many inspections he or she performs each year to get a better idea about their level of experience. Here in New Jersey the average home inspector performs just over one-hundred and fifty inspections per year.
Association Memberships:
Inspectors who meet the requirements to become members of professional associations usually uphold better standards of practice. Some professional organizations have educational requirements while some others are more lax in their requirements for continuing education. Look for an inspector who is a member of the Independent Home Inspectors of North America. This is a small but dedicated group of inspectors who believes that there is an inherent conflict of interest when a realtor recommends a New Jersey home inspection company to a client. Independent inspectors are dedicated to upholding the strictest ethical standards and do not solicit realtor referrals.
Length of the Inspection:
At least two and a half or three hours is required to properly inspect a home. A thorough home inspection takes longer than an hour to perform. Ask the inspector about the average duration of his or her inspections. If they say to allow an hour or less you should probably find another more through home inspector.
Level of Detail Offered in the Report:
As a rule checklist style home inspection reports are not detailed enough and do not provide adequate information to the buyer. A narrative NJ Home Inspection Report allows for greater detail about the defects that exist in the home. Checklist reports are often too vague and lack the necessary detail. Find a home inspector that provides a detailed narrative style of report. Generally reports generated on site after the home inspection are not as detailed as reports that are well thought out and carefully written back at the inspectors’ office.