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Q & A
Q. First, Why an ASHI Inspector ? A. An ASHI Inspector has demonstrated
a commitment to the Inspection industry far beyond the requirements of the state licensing required for Professional Inspectors.
To be certified as an ASHI inspector, the inspector must
Most ASHI Inspectors regular attend advanced training on specialized subjects through out the state and go far beyond
even these requirements. We highly recommend you hire an ASHI Inspector to perform your inspection. If you need
more information on ASHI please refer to their link in our “Helpful Links” Section. Q. Why get a property inspection ? A. The purchase of a home or commercial property is the largest single investment most people will ever make. It is important to learn as much as possible about the condition of the property before you buy. A property inspection can help to minimize unpleasant surprises and difficulties after the purchase. A property inspection provides an impartial, in-depth, evaluation of the physical condition of the property both mechanically and structurally. A well done inspection will aid the buyer in planning and budgeting for future repairs by providing you this perspective of the property in its current state. Be sure to demand a copy of the Seller's Disclosure report. We will be asking you for this at the time of the Inspection. Q. What do you inspect ? A. A simplified explanation is the entire property with some specific limitations. The standard property inspector's report will review the condition of the property's heating system, central air conditioning system (temperature permitting), interior plumbing and electrical systems; the roof, attic, and visible insulation; walls, ceilings, floors, windows and doors; the foundation, crawl space, and visible structure. Please visit the link provided at the Texas Real Estate Commission, which explains to you in great detail the entire scope of a Texas Real Estate Inspection under the Standards of Practice. In addition, we will provide additional clarifications to you on our standard Real Estate Pre-Inspection Agreement form. There are limitations to the TREC inspection and additional and more in-depth inspections are available to our clients. Q. How much does an inspection cost ? A. There are many things that we consider before providing a firm price on an inspection. Since each house is different and each client may have different levels of concern we do not offer a standardized fee like many companies. If you will go to the "Get a Quote" page and fill in the information blocks we will send you a quote via email. If you wish, we will contact you via telephone. Be sure to notice that there are three different types of quote blocks. Be sure to choose the correct one. The Real Estate inspection block is first, followed by the Phase inspection block and the last one is for Builders needing a quote on a Third Party inspection. Q. Is a property inspection a guarantee or warranty that every defect on the house will be discovered ? A. NO. An inspection is only an inspection and report of an existing condition. It is information about the condition of the house as discovered by the inspector at the time of the inspection. Remember that the inspector will not open walls, inspect hidden conditions or open up mechanical equipment. Do not expect the inspector to be responsible for replacing equipment which might be malfunctioning a month after you buy the house because the inspector reported that it was functioning properly at the time of inspection. Inspectors are reporting on the current condition of equipment and components as they appear at the time of the original inspection. In fact, we can guarantee you that not every single defect on the house will be discovered at the time of inspection as this is not humanly possible in the limited time frame and resources that are provided to a Real Estate Inspection. Q. Is a property inspection a guarantee or warranty that the house, components or systems will continue to perform after I buy it ? A. NO. It is not possible for an inspector to provide this based on the limitations of the TREC Standards of Practice inspection guidelines. More in depth and comprehensive inspections are available for additional fees if you feel you need more information than the guidelines will provide. These inspections are extremely in depth, time consuming and very expensive. We will be happy to discuss these options with you. Q. My contract includes a home warranty policy. Isn't that protection enough ? A. No. Home warranty policies may not cover all aspects of the home's systems and structures ( foundation, plumbing, HVAC systems, roofs, swimming pools and so on ). Furthermore, such policies often have numerous exclusions and pre-existing condition clauses that will not protect you in all cases. That is not to say that such policies are a bad idea. On the contrary, they can be a real asset provided something covered by the policy should unexpectedly fail, but they are no substitute for a good home inspection. Q. I am getting an appraisal. Is the inspection by the appraiser adequate? A. NO. An appraisal is an estimate of market value of the property and is used to set the maximum amount the lender will lend on the property. The appraiser provides a GENERAL visual inspection of the property that is limited to very obvious conditions. A real estate inspection provides an in-depth perspective of each major system of the house. Q. Does the house pass or fail inspection ? A. NO. A professional property inspection is an examination of the current condition of your prospective property. It is not an appraisal, which determines market value, or a municipal inspection, which verifies local code compliance for new construction. Most houses, even those under construction now, do NOT meet current building codes. This is especially true of houses built in an unincorporated area. A property inspector, therefore, will not pass or fail a house or building, but rather describe its physical condition and indicate what may need repair or replacement. Q. Since you are a Certified Builder, can you perform our repairs? A. NO. That is a clear violation of the Code of Ethics for Real Estate Inspectors to profit or gain from any work they personally inspect. Inspectors should always be neutral and unbiased on every inspection they perform. Q. I am buying a brand new property .. do I need an inspection ? A. YES. The perfect house or building has not been built yet and most likely will never be. Even brand new properties will have some areas of deficiency, defects or outstanding code violations that have yet to be corrected. Even though you have a Builders warranty, it is in your best interest to have these items corrected before you purchase the property and move in. Repairs can be very disruptive and are far easier to correct before a move in. Q. I'm confused .. I thought you said you did not inspect for building code violations ? A. Your right! This is very confusing but let me explain it. Real Estate Inspectors do not report on building code violations on existing houses. There are some vague inferences and a few specific reference to building code in the TREC guidelines and that is the full extent of building code inspection that should provided on an existing property. However, on a brand new property … IF an inspector is building code certified, he may perform a pure building code inspection of the property in addition to any other inspection criteria he wishes to include. This is why our FINAL inspection is different from other Real Estate Inspectors. They are simply looking for items of repair based on the TREC standards of Practice. Our inspection will include the standards of Practice guidelines in addition to comments on work not performed to industry standard and any visible outstanding building code violations that exist. Q. The builder said we didn't need a code inspection because the house has already been passed by the municipal inspectors ? A. Maybe so … maybe no. Since you may only pay a slight premium to have us inspect over a non-code certified inspector we feel it's better safe than sorry. Again, we see and hear this everyday and we continue to write reports everyday that have numerous items of repair including code violations that were never found or corrected. The city inspectors are terribly overworked and have very limited time to perform their inspection. In addition, in many cases municipal inspectors may not have a code certification for any or all of the inspections they are performing on your house. They are exempt while working for and under a municipality. The theory here is that another set of experienced eyes can only help. We are there to provide you a professional opinion on compliance that is in comjunction with the local city inspections. Be advised however that their rulings will prevail over ours since they have ultimate jurisdiction ! Q. Do the Builders have to repair things you find or correct code violations after the city has passed the house ? A. NO.
This is the Builders prerogative. They do not pass or fail our inspection either unless we are contracted to perform
a Third Party City of Austin framing or Drywall inspection. Occasionally a small handful of Builders are not happy
about correcting additional issues we find, but for the most part Builders are fairly receptive to correcting legitimate issues
that may have been overlooked by the local city inspectors. Remember, the builders that eagerly repair items are
usually the ones that readily stand by warranty items after they have been paid for the house. That's the Builder
you want working for you.
Q. What happens if problems are found on an existing or new property ? A. The same. There is no such thing as a perfect house whether it is an existing or brand new home. If the inspection does identify problems, it doesn't necessarily mean you shouldn't buy the house. You are always free to negotiate with the seller or Builder and attempt to come to an agreement about how problems will or can be corrected. This may involve adjusting the purchase price or contract terms, or an agreement that repairs will be completed before the sale continues. Most problems can be repaired with rare exceptions. What is most important is that you be aware of what the problems are so that you can make informed decisions about your purchase. In some cases our advisory comments may seem as worrisome as an actual finding of an item that needs correction. Again, the intent is not to worry you but to educate you to possibilities so you can make an informed decision for yourself. An experienced Real Estate agent or tradespersons should be able to help you prioritize the costs and severity of any items found. We are prohibited from offering estimates on life spans, costs of repair or prioritizing any listed repair items and their level of severity. Our scope of responsibility is to simply inspect and report on items. Q. If the house proves to be in good condition, did I just waste my money? A. Not at all. Being an informed buyer allows you to proceed with your decision making process with a level of knowledge and comfort about the house that you would not otherwise have had. That peace of mind is well worth the price of a Professional inspection and you will likely learn things about your new property from the inspector's written report that will be of great value to you. Q. Who can perform a property inspection ? A. The Texas Real Estate Commission regulates real estate inspectors in the State of Texas. There are minimum guidelines concerning what the inspector is required to inspect, and in some cases the manner in which the inspection must be carried out. In order to obtain a license from the State of Texas to make property inspections, the applicant inspector must fulfill the educational and experience requirements mandated by the State and then pass one or more examinations. There are three levels of licensing granted by the State of Texas; Apprentice Inspector, Real Estate Inspector, and the highest level of licensing, the Professional Real Estate Inspector. When considering your inspector, we recommend you get a guarantee from the company that your inspection will be performed by a Professional Inspector at a minimum. Q. Can I do the inspection myself or have a friend perform it ? A. Even the most experienced owner lacks the knowledge and expertise of a Professional Real Estate Inspector who has inspected hundreds or thousands of properties. An inspector is familiar with the many elements of construction, their proper installation, and maintenance. He or she understands how the properties’ systems and components are intended to function together, as well as how and why they fail. Above all, most buyers find it very difficult to remain completely objective and unemotional about the house they really want, and this may affect their judgment. For the most accurate information, it is best to obtain an impartial third-party opinion from a trained professional and not risk your investment or friendship. Q. When do I call for the inspection ? A . A property inspector is typically contacted right after the contract or purchase agreement has been signed. The contract you sign should always include an inspection clause that makes your purchase obligation contingent upon the findings of a Professional Property Inspection. We find many agents on both the seller and listing side eager for a quick sale and only allowing the buyer 7-10 days. This is not in your best interest in most cases. It can take up to 5 days to get a quality inspector particularly if you call on a Thursday. The first available appointment may not be until early in the week and you have lost 5 days. This leaves little or no time to consult with tradespersons or third party consultants if major defects are found. We advise you to ask your agent for a minimum of 15 days. If your agent represents your best interest, they should be happy to try and negotiate this for you. Q. Should I be present at the inspection … and how long does it take ? A. It is not necessary or required that you to be present at the time of inspection, but it is highly recommended. We prefer our clients to allow us 1.5 -2 hours by our self on an average size house before they join us. On some of the larger property’s we do you will need to allow 3-5 hours. At the time the inspection is booked we will be able to give you a time frame after we know the particulars of the house. This time alone allows us to focus completely on the many tasks we have to perform. After we complete the inspection we will walk you thru the entire interior and exterior and provide you with a verbal description of our findings. By accompanying us during the walk thru you will find the written report you will receive easier to understand since you had the opportunity to see the property and hear my findings on a first hand basis. Any specific questions and concerns can be addressed as we are proceeding thru the house. When the walk thru is complete you should have a tremendous amount of first hand knowledge provided to you that you can begin to process. Remember, do not form any firm opinions on the purchase until you have received the written report as the written report will contain the entire scope of our findings, recommendations and or advisory comments. Q. What kind of a report will we get and when will we receive it ? A. Our reports are very detailed, in most cases 15-20+ pages in length. The report will be sent to you via email usually the same day depending on the difficulty of the inspection and the time of day the inspection is performed. If you do not have access to a computer we can FAX or send via US mail. Q. If I have questions after I receive your report, can I call you for clarifications ? A. YES. We are happy to answer any questions we can. You will be able to reach us from 7:30 am to 6:00pm Monday - Friday and 8:00am - 1:00pm on Saturday. Please have a list of questions developed and remember that questions must be limited to the report comments only. We cannot provide specific advise on methods of repair. Q. I have a question that I did not see answered here … I would like to ask some more ? A. Fine . Just send us an email. We will respond as soon as possible with our answers.
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