Professional Home Inspections
Posted on: May 25, 2007
I recently learned that prior to the late 1980’s, professional home inspections rarely, if ever occurred. Wow, how things have changed since then! At that time the buyer was pretty much left on their own to determine the condition of the property. If they were lucky, maybe they had a relative or friend in the building trades that would come take a look; however most buyers were on their own. It is interesting to also note that at the time the buyer did not even have their own representation in the transaction. The law actually required both agents to represent the seller’s interests!
In today’s market place, an independent professional home inspection is done in almost every residential transaction in Oregon. Since the Buyer’s Agent is now looking out exclusively for the buyer’s best interest, they will recommend the buyer have a professional inspection performed. The typical sale contract allows the buyer time to do the inspection, and a chance to terminate the sale agreement with no penalty if they are not satisfied with the inspection results.
When choosing an inspector, as with any service, the buyer should do some homework. The Buyer’s Agent may provide a list of inspectors that they have worked with, but will not typically recommend any one as being the “best”. The reason for this is simply that if there is a problem later on, the buyer might decide to hold the agent responsible for that inspector. Many Principle Brokers simply will not allow their Agents to put themselves in that position.
Fortunately there are some additional resources available to the Buyer. Professional Home Inspectors are governed and licensed by the Oregon Contractor’s Board: http://www.ccb.state.or.us/CCB/home_inspectors.shtml. There you will find resources on choosing an inspector. In addition there are several home inspector trade organizations that train and certify inspectors. The two major national ones are the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) and the National Association of Home Inspectors (NAHI). The top Oregon based organizations are the Oregon Association of Home Inspectors (OAHI) and the Oregon Real Estate Inspectors Association (OREIA).
Finally, it is highly recommended that the buyer not only have an inspection done, but to actually show up at the inspection as well. OK, it is going to take somewhere in the range of 2-4 hours depending on the size and condition of the property. What often works well is if the buyer simply comes to the last 30 minutes or so, and gets an overview from the inspector. That way the buyer gets a first hand look at any problem areas and also learns something about the elements and systems of their new home. Many times a good inspector will even point out future maintenance items for the new owner to keep an eye on and plan ahead for.
The professional home inspection, while historically not really the norm, has become an important part of most residential real estate transactions. This shift toward the Buyer’s Agent recommending their clients have a professional inspection is one way the industry has progressed and adapted to better serve the public.
Want to know more? Learn What to Expect From a Home Inspection and What to Ask When Interviewing a Home Inspector.
_Article written by Locke Christman, Broker for portlandrealestate.com.