This is often the first question prospective home buyers ask home inspectors. Many people think the fee is the only differentiating factor among inspectors. (This is probably due to the fact that most newer home inspectors compete for business by focusing attention to their advertised fees.) What if someone answered the phone and said: "I'm not licensed, I'm the newest and least experienced inspector in the area, I don't have insurance, I provide a cheap, hard to read, hand written checklist with no photos and the only way I can get business is by charging less than all the other inspectors." Okay, maybe you won't hear that actual statement, but what is an inspector really saying when he states: "My home inspection fee is competitve" or my "fee is lower than other home inspectors", or "I offer a free termite inspection", or "I'm having a web special". (Do top professionals give away their services?)
You've spent a lot of time researching for the place you will call home, but how much time have you spent researching for a home inspector? (A couple of quick phone calls that started out: "How much do you charge?") Do you really want an inexperienced person to inspect the most expensive purchase you will ever make? Isn't the inspector's qualifications and home inspection experience important? What kind of testing equipment will the inspector be using? Will the inspector be using a $3 outlet tester or a $300 circuit analyzer? What kind of report is provided? Have you viewed a sample report? Does it include photo documentation? If you cannot afford the best home inspector, how will you afford the items the low cost, inexperienced home inspector fails to report?
Assuming you have done the aforementioned, now the question about home inspection fees can be asked, however, bear in mind one price does not and should not fit all houses. (A 4,000 s.f. house should take twice as long to inspect than a 1200 s.f house.) Fees will and should vary according to the inspector's level of experience, reputation, qualifications, talent and service delivered (the type of report produced.) The size, design and age of the property also has to be figured in.
Is the inspector on a tight schedule doing 2 or 3 inspections per day and completing on-the-spot checklist type reports? What kind of inspection report do you get from an inspector who does 3 inspections per day? So that you can see for yourself, actual portions of a checklist inspection report from a low cost home inspection company have been uploaded for your review. (These documents were scanned and converted to a .pdf file. None of the scanned pages have been altered, these are exactly what the client received.) Click to view 3 pages of an under $300 inspection report.
Having a hard time trying to understand the handwritten comments on those pages? Do you see any inspection photos? Do you think this kind of report is useful? Brochures from "low cost" NH home inspectors can be found in many real estate agency offices. Do you think when real estate agents go to buy a house for themselves that they will use one of those "low cost" home inspectors? (It's unlikely you will see brochures of highly qualified and experienced inspectors in real estate offices.) If a thorough inspection, full narrative report and photo editing of an average size home takes 5 to 6 hours, (not counting travel time) how "thorough" is the inspector who does 3 inspections and reports in one day? What's the alternative to a quick, cheap, practically useless inspection and handwritten (difficult to decipher) checklist report? Click to view sample inspection report from a $595 inspection.
Click to view sample inspection photos 1-6 included with report
Click to view sample inspection photos 7-12 included with report
Money: Let's put home inspection fees in perspective: If you're buying a $500,000 house and the inspection fee is $750, that's less than .0016% of the cost of the house! Most real estate agencies charge 3.0% to 6.0% to sell a house, that would be $15,000 to $30,000 for a $500,000 house! The cost of a home inspection is a bargain, even if you paid $1,600 for the inspection.If the owner of a house is willing to pay a real estate agent $15,000 to $30,000 to sell the house, how much are you willing to pay to find out the true condition of the property?
The real value of an inspection and report should be measured by its usefulness. If a home inspection report fails to help a prospective buyer fully understand what they are buying or if it doesn't provide accurate, detailed information, which the client could use in the real estate negotiation process, what good is it? See what some clients of Able Home Inspection, Inc. have said about their home inspection experience.