Home Inspection Questions

Why do I need a home inspection?

The obvious answer is to find out the condition of the house and is the house worth pursuing.  Also, when buying a home, it is extremely important to identify all costs with the purchase.  For example,  there are three costs involved with purchasing a house:

1. Price of the house
2. Closing cost
3. Cost to repair/replace defects of a house.

1 and 2 are known fixed numbers, however 3 is unknown unless you obtain a quality home inspection that includes cost estimates. 

A quality home inspection that uncovers costly defects will provide you the backup you will need to renegotiate your original offer or enable you to plan financially. 

Should I be concerned with qualifications of the person who inspects my home?

Absolutely!  For many reasons you want a Professional Engineer(PE). The home inspection industry has been recently diluted in New York State, allowing individuals with a minimum of a high school diploma and 140 hours of training to perform home inspections.  Please note, these individuals are not engineers and are restricted in the level of structural inspection they can perform.

Not every Home Inspector is a (PE) Professional Engineer.   Make sure you request a "Professional Engineer" or PE when you need a home inspection. 

Beware, many of these non-engineers advertise themselves as Engineers, which is a felony.   Also against the NYS Home inspectors regulation Section 197-4.9c which  states... 

Home inspectors shall not advertise home inspection services as an engineer ... unless the individual and/or firm is licensed to provide engineering services by the New York State Education Department. 

Visit the New York State Education Department  to    link to verify if a person is an engineer.   http://www.op.nysed.gov/opsearches.htm

You should think twice before hiring a person that states they are a home inspection Engineer and whose name cannot be found in the above link.   

What exactly is a Licensed Professional Engineer (PE)?

 
The P.E. (Professional Engineer) designation is issued and regulated by the NYS government.  NYS assures that practicing individuals are properly educated, trained and experienced to serve the public. 

To obtain a NYS license to practice professional engineering, an individual, at a minimum, must satisfy all of the following requirements:

1.    Four years of college level engineering education. 

2.    Four years of professional engineering experience. 

3.    Successful completion of 2 eight hour technically exhausting board examination, administered by NYS. 

By law a Licensed Professional Engineer (PE) is the only one who can legally render an opinion on the structural stability of an existing building.

See for yourself, here are several links from a Home Inspectors Association quizzing their home inspectors on what to do if you see structural defects during the inspection.  The right answer for both structural questions is to tell the client they must call a (PE) Professional Engineer to inspect structural defects.  That’s another inspection fee!

Example 1
Example 2

Should I hire an “Inspector” recommended by the Real Estate Agent? 

We believe this is a conflict-of-interest and we will answer this question with a question.  If you were buying a used car, would you have the vehicle checked by a mechanic that was recommended by the used-car agent? 

Real Estate Agents make their money on commission by selling property. Never lose site that Real Estate Agents are sales-people. No sale…no commission.  Some agents may have a list of three inspectors who have been carefully screened not to be commission killers. The list, however, will be long enough to protect the agent from any referral liability should the buyer blame the agent for any inspection mistakes.

This gives the RE agent the perfect combination of:

•     No liability for the referral;
•     The buyer "chooses" an inspector the agent prefers;
•     The buyer’s choice is limited to an inspector who will not hurt the sale and the Agent's commission.

Rest assured of the following:

• We treat our clients as family.  
• We will not let you purchase a lemon.
• We do not seek RE Agents referrals.

When Do I Request An Engineer? 

In the majority of cases, you must have the house inspected prior to signing a contract!

You can contact us anytime before you sign a contract.  Once you sign a contract it will be too late include compensation for damages, defects and problems (that would be discovered during a home inspection) into the contract.

Once again, you can contact us anytime.  If you are shopping for a house and may have some general questions or specific questions about a house,  give us a call.  We would be happy to answer your questions and give you advice.  Phone calls are always free. 

Do I really need to be present at the time of the inspection? 

Absolutely, by following the engineer you can ask questions and get a first hand look at things you might not have thought were important.  Although our written report is very detailed our engineer can go over each and every finding with you at the site. 

Do you carry any type of insurance?

We maintain $1,000,000 Errors/Omission  (E/O) insurance, as well as $1,000,000 of General Liability insurance.   E/O insurance is to a Home Inspector as Malpractice insurance is to a doctor.  According to our insurance company, over 95% of the Home inspectors in NYS do not have E/O insurance.

What If The Report Reveals Problems? 

If our Engineer finds problems in a building, it does not necessarily mean you should not buy it, only that you will know in advance what type of repairs to anticipate. Also, a seller may be willing to make repairs, or lower the selling price because of the problems discovered by our Engineers.  If your budget is tight, or if you do not wish to become involved in future repair work, you may decide that this is not the property for you. The choice is yours. 

What if the Realtor says the house does not need to be inspected?

If the realtor feels so confident that the house does not need to be inspected,  tell the realtor to sign a document stating that the repair of any defects, damages and problems that are discovered during the first year of home ownership will be paid for by the realtor.   The Agent will change their tune.

If The Report Is Favorable, Did I Really Need An Inspection? 

Definitely! Now you can complete your purchase with peace of mind about the condition of the property and its equipment and systems. You may have learned a few things about your property from the inspection report, and will want to keep that information for your future reference. Above all, you can rest assured that you are making a well informed purchase decision and that you will be able to enjoy or occupy your new home.

Can I Inspect The Building Myself?

Even the most experienced building or homeowner lacks the knowledge and the technical expertise of a professional engineer. Our engineers are well versed with the critical elements of construction and with the proper installation, maintenance and inter-relationships of these elements. Above all, most buyers find it difficult to remain completely objective and unemotional about the building they really want, and this may lead to a poor assessment. 
 
 

 Free termite certificate with each inspection.

Serving Nassau, Suffolk & Queens Counties
Office:

(718) 576-1291

(631) 462-2743

(516) 620-6747

1-800-364-7632