Choosing a DFW Home Inspector
A home inspection is important. It gives you the knowledge you need to make decisions about a home - and knowledge is power. The power to negotiate when you're buying a home, the power to plan for expenses down the road, and the power to protect your home from future problems. It's our job to give you that knowledge, and we want to make sure you get it - even if you don't choose us as your home inspector!
Here are a few things you should know about choosing a great home inspector:
1. Make sure the home inspection company has full-time W-2 employees. This shows you that the company and its employees are committed to providing a high level of service, that they stand behind their findings and are invested in getting it right. Our Inspectors are full time employees with a vested interest in our customers' satisfaction.
2. Choose a company that has been in business for awhile. A lot of home inspectors come right out of training and start their own business. We're not saying that a new inspector can't be great, but choose one that has a company with years of experience standing behind them. A company with time and money invested in building a company with integrity is more likely to provide you with a professional, seamless experience, with results you can count on.
3. Home inspectors are required to be licensed by the state of Texas. You can check on your inspector's license on the Texas Real Estate Commission's website. All licensed home inspectors should display their license number on their business cards, website, social media, etc.
4. Choose an inspector that guarantees the time of report delivery. In the DFW area, you usually have a limited time during your option period to receive results and be able to make decisions. A good company will provide the report within 24 hours.
5. Price is always a consideration, and our advice is the same as with many things - don't choose the cheapest one or the most expensive one. The best quality and integrity often lies somewhere in the middle. A home inspection in DFW should cost between $350-$500 or more, depending on the size and structures involved. And when you're talking about making a major investment like buying a house, a $50 or $100 savings doesn't mean much - especially if you're sacrificing quality.
5. Take a look at some sample reports to make sure you know what you're getting. Some low cost inspectors do a bare-minimum, checklist style report that doesn't go in-depth into the systems of the house; others have a ton of excess wording and pad the report to make it look impressive. A good, thorough report should be between 20-40 pages and include pictures for your reference. At Green Scene, we take it a step further and provide a video summary with every inspection. See a sample video here.
The harsh reality is that some home inspectors are trained to go easy, "don't ruin the deal." It's not a home inspector's job to make or break a real estate transaction, and a home inspector shouldn't have any skin in the game. We are here to give an unbiased, fact-based opinion about how the major and minor systems of a house are operating. Unfortunately that means home inspectors sometimes find problems that make a buyer decide not to purchase the home. That can make both the sellers and the realtors unhappy, so sometimes the home inspector is the bearer of bad tidings. But we find that when everyone has as much knowledge as possible, and
Have questions about choosing a home inspector in the Dallas- Fort Worth area? Contact us here, or give us a call at 214.796.7707. We're here to help!
