Housing Inspectors have become popular for new home buyers to use.

It’s like all jobs - some are good, some are mediocre, and some are bad. A Kentucky Housing Inspector is really more of an observer than an inspector, as he/she makes no invasive or real inspection of the home.

If you plan to use one, please review a list of inspectors, talk with them, get references, ask around on social media, and read their contract in advance.

The contract may state as follow:

•  This is a visual inspection only.
•  We inspect only what we see.
•  We do not do an invasive inspection or disassemble anything.
•  We do not inspect for environmental issues, ie, lead paint, asbestos, mold, radon, toxicity, pests, vermin, infestation, dry rot, or termites.
•  We are not specialists.
•  An opinion is not offered as to the advisability or inadvisability of the purchase, its value, or its use.
•  Any disputes have to be arbitrated.

In hiring a housing inspector, one must understand that they may have NO prior experience in home construction, heating and air, electrical, masonry, carpentry, roofing or plumbing. They may have NO real world experience in any phase of home construction. They are merely going to look to see if something is obviously wrong, or needs further investigation.

For most of these inspections, you are paying big bucks for someone to walk through the house, look at the roof, look in the crawlspace, and look into the attic to determine if they SEE a problem or damage that is not excluded in their inspection contract. They will tell you to hire an expert to look at it IF they do notice something that may be a problem or damage.

You need to determine if you want to hire someone for a visual, walk-through inspection, or if you would rather have an experienced building contractor, heat and air contractor, electrician and/or plumber to thoroughly inspect your potential purchase.