Buying Kalamazoo Homes - Questions about Kalamazoo Area Home Inspectors

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May 3, 2009, by Joel Nelson in Home Buying Process

Neglecting to have your property inspected could be the most costly mistake of your life! So why take the chance when you can always hire a good Kalamazoo Michigan home inspector to inspect your dream house for you?

Below are the top questions you can ask to make sure that your Kalamazoo area home inspector is competent, if not the best in the business.

1. How long have they been in the inspection business?

The general rule is that the longer your Kalamazoo Michigan home inspector has been in the business, the better for you. When it comes to home inspection, there is absolutely no substitute for experience. But be wary of some home inspectors who are quick to quote the number of years they’ve been in the business. You can never accept anything at face value, especially considering how lax state laws are regarding the regulation of licensing Kalamazoo Michigan home inspectors. When they do say that they have years of experience, verify. Ask them what specific experience they mean by that.

The goal in asking this question is to try to gain insight into the specific experience of your Kalamazoo area home inspector. You need to find out exactly how many years they have spent in actual and full-time home inspection work, and not just construction or trade related experience.

2. How many home inspections have they completed?

This question can be somewhat related to the above, but it needs particular emphasis. Because anyone can say that they are quite experienced in home inspection only to find out that they have never actually handled an actual home inspection by themselves. Also, an Kalamazoo Michigan home inspector who has been handling more than twenty home inspections in all his years in the home inspection business is quicker to identify or recognize subtle problems that a less experienced home inspector might miss. A seasoned professional is definitely better than a relative newbie.

3. Do I need an engineer and what standards do you inspect to?

Sometimes you do. A Kalamazoo area home inspector is very important and very useful for almost anything in the house. If you run into an unusual situation in the Kalamazoo area home being inspected though, an engineer's opinion may be needed. For example, you might be concerned if there is a concrete retaining wall in question. Most commonly, engineers are brought in on quetions relating to the foundation's strength.

4. What qualifications does the inspector have?

In most states, home inspection is totally unregulated. The closest thing a consumer can get for an assurance about the standards of practice and code of ethics of his Kalamazoo home inspector is the rules and codes provided by a few trade groups. But other than that, the government has none. So consumers must therefore take care that they are hiring a professional who knows what he’s doing. Some independent and non-aligned Kalamazoo Michigan home inspectors are indeed professionals and well-trained, but many are not. So just to be safe, make certain that your Kalamazoo Michigan home inspector is reputable in his chosen line of work. Your Kalamazoo area real estate agent should be able to help you find a reputable inspector.

There is a lot of free information available to you about buying, selling or investing in Kalamazoo real estate. For complete information about the Kalamazoo MI real estate market including Kalamazoo homes for sale, property values and more, please visit the most complete website dedicated to everything Kalamazoo real estate See for yourself, visit http://HomesofSWMichigan.com

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If you or someone you know are in need of a competent and caring Kalamazoo real estate professional in or near Kalamazoo MI, I hope you will contact me.