Most buyers meet their home inspector once, on the morning of the inspection, and have no idea what to ask. By then the important decision has already been made.
These are the questions worth asking at each stage: before you hire anyone, while the inspection is happening, and after the report arrives. The first one matters more than the rest combined.
The question most buyers never ask
Ask this before anything else.
“Do you solicit referrals from real estate agents?”
An inspector who depends on agent referrals for work has a financial relationship with the person whose commission depends on your sale closing. A report that kills a deal costs that inspector future business. That is a real conflict, and it operates quietly.
Ask the question directly, then listen to how the answer is delivered and not just what it says. Hesitation tells you as much as the words do.
Michael does not solicit referrals from real estate agents. Our loyalty is solely to our client, the buyer.
During the inspection
“Can you show me?”
The most useful question you can ask all morning. Do not settle for a description of a problem you have not seen with your own eyes. Ask to be walked to it.
“Is this normal wear, or is this a defect?”
Every house has cosmetic imperfections, and no house is perfect. What you need to know is which findings are ordinary aging and which are actual deficiencies that require attention.
“What happens if this is not addressed?”
This is the question that separates a problem you can live with from one that grows significantly more expensive the longer it waits.
“Does this need a specialist?”
Some findings cannot be fully evaluated by visual inspection alone and require a licensed electrician, plumber, or professional engineer to determine the true scope of the work. Ask which findings fall into that category, so you can arrange further evaluation before the expiration of your inspection contingency.
“Is there anything you could not inspect?”
Locked rooms, blocked crawl spaces, snow-covered roofs, and inaccessible attics all limit what any inspection can cover. You should leave knowing exactly which areas were not examined, because those are the areas where surprises hide.
“Are there signs of a problem that was covered up?”
Fresh paint in one basement corner. New drywall on a single wall. A recently resurfaced section of floor. Ask what the inspector noticed that looks less like ordinary maintenance and more like something being concealed.
Looking for a home inspector
“Your home inspection will be performed with the same degree of thoroughness, integrity, attention to detail, and care as if I were buying the home for myself. My candid inspection will educate you, my client, about the true condition of the home. I am not part of the sales team.”
— Michael Del Greco, Certified Master Inspector Instructor
FAA Remote Pilot Certificate 3950081
Questions to ask home inspectors during home inspections
Home inspection clients are often unsure of what to ask, and the most common mistake is not asking at all. If a question feels too small or too obvious to raise, raise it anyway while we are still standing in the home. There you can point directly at what concerns you, and chances are I can answer it on the spot and put your mind at ease. That is a far better outcome than driving away with the question still unanswered.
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- I can count on one hand the times I have been asked one of these important questions.
- The first question you should ask is one that I have yet to be asked by any home buyer since 1993 despite having 13,000 or so clients (except by the few who have read this). “May I please see your home inspector license”? Better yet, may I see your FAA Remote Pilot Certificate?
- Please ask. I have been carrying ID’s in my wallet for years not only because I am required to do so by law, and so once a year or so I get to show them to a client. If your inspector can’t find his or hers, it is time to stop the inspection and try again with another company.
- The very next question to ask during your home inspection is to ask the home inspector is “Are you working for my real estate agent?”
- If the answer is YES then that home inspector is not working for YOU as the home buyer. Stop the inspection and run away. Set up another home inspection with a real home inspector. Please call us at: (973) 812-5100
- Learn more about our Core Values
- Please realize if you are hiring the home inspector and you are paying for the home inspection, you are entitled to have a home inspector who is working for you and only you. If the home inspector indicates, the real estate salesperson is the home inspection client or worse yet does not understand the question run away QUICKLY.
- Another question you should be asking the home inspector is “What is your education, training, and experience”. A good home inspector will have a decade or so of home inspection experience, a few hundred hours of classroom experience and be able to tell you about the last few continuing education classes attended. New Jersey law requires inspectors to have at least 40 hours of continuing education in home inspection every two years. I have taught many of those classes and found many students learned quite a bit.
- What do I need to know so I know the Home Is Prepared For A Home Inspection
- Home inspectors expect questions to be asked during home inspections. If you ask a home inspector a question, then nod your head up and down when you hear the answer the home inspector is likely to feel your question was answered. If you do not understand the answer a home inspector gives you, tell the inspector. I have no problem at all explaining things more than once and in different ways until the buyers understand.
- Ask the home inspector about any of your concerns. Please call us at: (973) 812-5100.
Do not bother asking the inspector if
- 1. You should buy the home
- 2. If the home is right for you
- 3. If the price is right
- 4. Who has to fix what and the like
- Home inspectors can answer your questions about most issues. However, the above questions are outside of the field of expertise of most home inspectors.
- Feel free to question the home inspector about the drainage around the exterior of the home, how to help keep your basement dry, how to prolong the useful life of the roofing and if there are problems with the roofing and or siding. Home inspectors answer those questions all the time and can provide useful tips.
- While outside, ask the home inspector if there are any signs of improperly abandoned oil tanks, if there are, the home inspector can advise you and your attorney how to proceed.
- Home inspectors can tell you how many amps the service is, the service voltage if there is room to expand within the electric panel, if amateurs have caused problems with the wiring and if the wiring appears to be safe. If the home is older make sure you ask the inspector if aluminum wiring or knob and tube wiring exists, both are potential fire hazards and may make it difficult to get home owner’s insurance.
- When the home inspector is inspecting the plumbing system ask if the sewer cleanout cap is newer. If it is suspect problems with the sewer pipe may exist and budget for replacement. Ask the inspector how old the plumbing supply, waste and vent pipes are. If the pipes are old replacement may be necessary sooner than you would like.
- Heating systems must be inspected and you are entitled to be told how the heating system works. If you do not know the parts on the boiler or furnace, now is the time to find out. Ask the home inspector questions about what part does what and why they are there. Every home inspector I know is anxious to teach you everything he or she knows. If the inspector does not know the names of the parts on the equipment, you should be concerned.
- Many buyers have questions to ask home inspectors about the structure of the home. Keep in mind home inspectors can not see into or through walls. Home inspectors can see what they can see and make a few educated guesses.
- Home inspectors are likely to miss hidden damages from insects, rot, water and construction defects unless obvious symptoms exist. Home inspectors who provide an answer of “I do not know” when asked the question is there hidden damages are not being evasive they are being honest.
- Please allow us the opportunity to assist you!
- Michael Del Greco, President, Accurate Inspections, Inc.
- Certified Master Inspector Instructor, New Jersey Home Inspector # GI0121 (2003 first year licensing was offered to present), FAA Certified (Drone) Remote Pilot Certificate # 3950081 (2016 to present), Credentialed Wood Destroying Insect Inspector (2001 to present), Radon Measurement Technician # MET10521 (1993 to present), American Society of Home Inspectors ACI #102273 (1996 to present), Independent Home Inspectors of North America (2002 to present), InterNACHI Member # 09091610. Department of Housing and Urban Development Plan Reviewer/Consultant (inactive), Commercial Pesticide Applicator # 27091A (inactive),New York Home Inspector # 16000011881 (inactive). Click for links to verify Michael’s credentials and his resume.
