Hello all;

I am about to put an offer in on a home in San Diego, Ca. The house looks great, but my agent still wants to refer me to a home inspector that she frequently uses and have the house inspected just to be sure. I am on a tight budget, and honestly, can't afford the $325.00 the inspector is charging as a fee. A few of my friends mentioned that I should do the inspection myself and then contact the "Licensed Professionals" tradesman (like electricians, structural engineers, etc.,)if any major problems exist.One company I have found that provides DIY home inspections is einspect.org (www.einspect.org). Has anyone heard of them and do you think I should perform my own inspection (with the help of my husband)?

Help!

Sincerely,

Gloria
San Diego, CA

Hey, Gloria.

I'm a home inspector in San Diego, but even if I were anywhere else, I'd say you'd be making a serious mistake by passing on the home inspection. It takes may years of learning and practice to become knowledgeable in what to look for during a home inspection.

I don't know who your Realtor is or what home inspector s/he uses, but I have two different types of inspections specifically set up to help people in your circumstances. Our Basic inspection is very similar to our competitors but typically is less expensive than theirs. Our Standard inspection is much more thorough but is more expensive.

I'd be happy to help you if you could give me some more information concerning the age of the home and the square footage. You can also call me at 619-461-1600 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I'm here to help, even if you hire your Realtor's inspector.

Quick follow-up.

If you were to find something wrong, the fact that you are not a professional home inspector, and therefore probably not carrying appropriate insurance, sometimes means that what you find wrong is not accepted by the seller. That means that you could waste valuable time and wind up paying more for the home than you should, and still wind up having major repair bills.

You could also think about it this way. You are paying your Realtor through the sales price a 3% commission or so, or about $15,000. Why would you pay her $15,000 to put you in a home that might have significant problems that you don't know about because you chose not to have a professional home inspection? There are boundless horror stories in the real estate industry about people who didn't get a home inspection or tried to do it themselves.

Thank you. I may be giving you a call.

Gloria

I know I am going to start a fight here on this forum, but------
I am in favor of home inspections, we are supposed to encourage it.
It has been my experience that if a home inspector finds a structural problem, He will suggest you get a structural engineer.
If he finds a hvac problem, he will recommend a hvac inspection
Get my drift?
Thats just been my experience, others may be different.
He will write up in detail all the flaws that you have already seen and know about, but it always looks scarier on paper.
He may also find something you didn't see that may be a real problem, and need to know about.
It's a tough call. On the other hand, if you get trademen, you will most likely spend just as much.
Get some references from other buyers before you hire an inspector, if you do.

Actually, if we find structural problems, we won't recommend a structural inspection; we'll recommend a structural engineer design a fix for the problem. A general contractor or foundation professional will then install the fix.

Same thing with HVAC techs, plumbers, electricians, etc.

If you had a structural "inspection" by a structural engineer, it would cost far, far more than the home inspection. So bundled all in one, a home inspection is a bargain and, in my humble opinion, way underpriced.

I use the analogy that home inspectors are like family doctors. With doctors, you have a chest pain, so you go see your family physician. He looks at all the clues and tells you that you need heart surgery, so he sends you to a heart surgeon. Ain't no way that your family physician will be doing the surgery.

In our case, we look at all the clues also. If we find plumbing problems, we'll recommend a plumber come in and fix them. If we find electrical problems, we'll recommend an electrician come in and fix them.

If you didn't go to the family physician (home inspector) first, you might never know what problems you have and what specialists you need to see.

Gloria, you can go to my web site, www.BuyerPeaceOfMind.com, for references. We are full-time, professional home inspectors, and I myself specialize in working with first-time home buyers or "frightened" home buyers. Yes, it does look scarier on paper, but sometimes it just needs someone to explain it in plain ol' English so that it isn't as scarey.

Thank you Russel--I guess it just depends on who you get!

It really does depend on who you get. Just like getting a realtor or a mortgage, you need to do a lot of checking into their qualifications first. Can you do it yourself? Sure you can. You don’t “need” a Realtor, Attorney, or Home Inspector. But it’s a dang good idea to use the professionals when you’re investing tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Would you use a part time Attorney. Why would you use a part time Realtor or Inspector?

Do it yourself? For only $29.95 for access to the website for a month? What a great deal! (insert sarcasm emoticon here)

As for using tradesmen, by the time you pay the electrician, the plumber, the HVAC guy, the roofer, the framing contractor, the drainage & grading contractor, the chimney sweep, the insulation contractor, the garage door opener contractor, the appliance guy, etc, you’ll have spent a couple of thousand if not more, just on the inspection.

Home Inspectors are generalists specializing in failure diagnostics. We should refer the appropriate contractor to repair the problem, not inspect the problem again. I'm sorry you run into that type of inspector, KY Realtor.

Yes, it always looks scarier on paper. That’s why inspectors should take the time to ensure the buyer fully understands the ramifications of the problem. Sometimes, a very scary or serious problem on paper really has a simple solution.

In this case, I can't help but think of this as a plug for einspect.org which I've never heard of.

However, a couple of minutes on the internet shows that the einspect.org website was registered on 12 May 2005 by a Darrik Isham of Trident Inspections, San Diego, CA. A couple of years ago, Mr Isham was asking what a new inspector needed for E& O Insurance in California. Obviously, he hasn't been in business as long as his *.org website seems to lead you to believe.

Quote from the website:
"Einspect.org is a company comprised of former home inspectors that are revolution the way home inspections are conducted." Former?

http://www.nachi.tv/bbsystem/search.php?...6e414f4327b2cb8

From “WHOIS.NET”
Domain ID:D106301747-LROR
Domain Name:EINSPECT.ORG
Created On:12-May-2005 19:35:37 UTC
Last Updated On:12-Jul-2005 03:58:58 UTC
Expiration Date:12-May-2006 19:35:37 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:Tucows Inc. (R11-LROR)
Status:CLIENT TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Status:CLIENT UPDATE PROHIBITED
Registrant ID:tuBQEv7qG5KfVGTT
Registrant Name:Darrik Isham
Registrant Organization:Trident Inspections, Inc.
Registrant Street1:9205 Questor Place
Registrant Street2:#3528
Registrant Street3:
Registrant City:San Diego
Registrant State/Province:CA
Registrant Postal Code:92108
Registrant Country:US
Registrant Phone:+1.6197574351
Registrant Email:gisham@san.rr.com

Hmm, wonder if gisham@san.rr.com is Gloria?

DYI home inspections, gotta love this idea from a person who could not make it in the home inspection profession. :rolleyes:

Are home inspectors supposed to inspect for termites? We had a contract recently where the buyer order a home inspection, and the inspector said he found termites. He offered to "treat" for termites for a certain price. Sellers got a certified termite inspector as a second opinion, no termite infestation found.

Mostly no. Termite inspectors have to deal with deadly chemicals, and every state that I'm aware of licenses such chemical professions.

Here in California, I think even saying the word "termite" is forbidden. I think it's reserved by law to the termite professionals. After all, that's their name--"termite" professionals.

Normally we used terms such as "wood-destroying pests and organisms" or "wood-destroying insects" or "WDI".

Also, the various state and national trade associations forbid people from working on properties that they have inspected. I believe KREIA there in Kentucky does the same, so your inspector there might not be a member of KREIA or might be ignoring the KREIA standards of practice.

One more also, our E&O insurance generally excludes termite inspections. So your inspector also might not have E&O insurance, or he might have included a "rider" to his E&O insurance that does include termite.

I would check with the state to see if Kentucky licensed termite professionals (I'm pretty sure it does), and then ask him for his credentials in termite inspections, licensing number for termite inspections, etc.

In Kentucky, you must be a Licensed Pest Control Operator (LCPO) to inspect and treat for termites. This one sounds like a LCPO posing as a home inspector.

I don't know what part of Kentucky you're in, but this information may help you.

http://www.kyagr.com/enviro_out/pesticide/programs/Structural/

There are LCPO who've decided to also get into the Home Inspection business, but this one sure sounds shady.

When most KREIA inspectors see evidence of termites we report it as such and recommend inspection and treatment by an LCPO.

Russel, remember that as a pest control guy inspecting and treating, it's completely separate from a general home inspection therefore the Home Inspector Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics do not apply to termite stuff.

I think it was a home inspector posing as a LCPO!
He was not asked to do termite inspection.
At any rate, he didn't recognize that this was old termite damage, no recent infestation, and didn't see the evidence of the prior treatment, which he should have it he really knew what he was doing. I think he just want to collect more money for the "treatment"

Thanks for all the info.

I think you're right.