Discussions

So I'm looking at buying a place here soon, obviously a home inspection will be a condition of purchase. What exactly do they inspect? How thorough are they or do they just take a walk through and look for any obvious defects?

We had Crocus Home Inspectors inspect our recent purchase and he was very thorough. Well as thorough as you can be without opening up any ceilings or walls. He was there for 3 hrs until we got there and then we went over the entire inspection for 1.5-2 hours. Got a nice rundown of major and minor issues as well as a photo log of the entire inspection. Hope that helps.

If I were you I would hire a plumber, electrician, Carpenter to come by and do inspections on their own. should only take an hour each and you're getting three red Sealed tradesmen inspecting your house rather than some guy that took a two day course online. I got a flyer in my invoice from Brandon and Plumbing that say they do whole home inspections. In my opinion that would give me more peace of mind then some guy that is doing it as extra income or a retirement job. all of the home inspectors I have ever met, did it in the evening because it was their secondary job. Home inspector is generally charge $400 plus compared to probably less than $100 charge from each of the three trades.

I am agreement with whoaskedyou. Unless you are buying a real fixer up er I wouldn't bother. Although I imagine most of them took more then an online course and are not just doing it as a "side job". Most people can do a pretty good inspection themselves even if you are a first time home buyer. Even some of the good realtors will point a few things out if they see them. At least I know mine did. If you see something that doesn't look right get someone in to give you an opinion. But if you really want a home inspector give a few of them a call. Ask them what they inspect, what background they have, prices etc. If they are any good at all they will have no problem providing you with that info and possibly even references.

A Good Deeds Home Inspection i:ncludes a thorough visual investigation of the home's readily accessible features, major systems and their components such as structure, foundation, roof, interior, exterior, heating and ventilation system, electrical, plumbing and more. An electronic report including images will be provided within 24hrs or sooner of the inspection 204-573-9279  
fully insured, Certified, Bonded

For an older home, even 80's or early 90's it's good idea as lots may be coming due to replace etc. For a newer home, as long you know who built the house then a home inspection may not be as needed.

I bought my first home within the last year. I would recommend getting an actual red seal carpenter and plumber. I used a home inspection company already listed above and they never told me a lot of stuff that was wrong with my house. If I would of know half the stuff wrong with my house I probably would of kept looking.

Any other inspectors people would recommend?

Home inspections are, in my opinion, a waste of money and I'll share my experiences to show you why.  
 
My husband and I both entered our relationship owning property. Neither of us had home inspections with those homes, and we both had a good grasp on what issues there were on those houses and did the work accordingly. And they were not new houses - he lived in one that was built in 1906, and and mine was 1947. This was in the early 2000's.  
 
When we moved to Brandon, we sold our properties and bought a house together, again without inspection. Again, it was pretty evident what the issues were with the house, and we invested the money into repairs and updates accordingly.  
 
We had no major issues whatsoever with any of those three properties over years.  
 
Fast forward to 2009, and we've outgrown the house we bought when we first moved to Brandon. We bought a larger home, but this time we had some questions about issues that we could sort of see but were unsure about. We decided to spring for an inspection. The inspectors came highly recommended by several people and were actual tradespeople.  
 
It is now 2017, and we've sunk over $30K into remediating major issues that were never disclosed to us upon purchase (that disclosure form is a joke), and were never identified by the inspectors. Basically, the inspectors only told us the things we could plainly see for ourselves, and didn't tell us any of the things we needed to know. Unfortunately, as a buyer there's no recourse as we would have to prove intent to deceive.  
 
So the moral of the story is, if a property raises red flags for you that you feel requires inspection, that may be a signal that you should just walk away. We don't intend to move at this point (we're too deep in now), but if I were I would skip the inspection.

Home inspectors are not allowed to check in, under or behind anything including closed doors. Plus you have zero recourse if they miss anything including glaringly obvious defects. Its total and utter waste of time and money, you as the purchaser are allowed to do a much more in depth inspection

Home inspectors can look behind closed doors, that was a complete wrong statement to make. While it's true they aren't going to see behind walls, they most certainly look in rooms even if the door is closed.  
There is recourse when you have a HI that you don't have should you do it yourself. Licenced and certified home inspectors carry errors and omissions insurance AND are bonded.  
While some major issues may be apparently obvious to an experienced home owner, serious problems may elude the average eye. Floor joists and foundation are good examples.  
And as for people thinking this is "hobby or side job", a certified home inspector has logged approx 1000 study hours to complete the Carson Dunlop program.  
Getting a red seal plumber, carpenter and electrician to all come in and spend the time with each FAR outweighs the cost of a home inspector in every way, let alone your time. Red seal does not always mean currently qualified.  
Bottom line folks is that not everyone should be making a purchase of this magnitude going on "feels" like one poster said. It is a major investment and the best info should be in hand to make that descision. Home inspectors are there to answer your questions, reassure you of issues and provide you with confidence. Will there be bad experiences out there, yes of course, but people saying it's a waste of time and money are seriously misleading the average new home buyer.  
This profession would not be in demand or so highly advised by banks and realtors if there was no value in it.

I'd never get one again. Like many above have said get an actual Tradesmen to look at the area of the house that they actually know. Don't hire someone who has taken a course to come an inspect your home. Our inspector didn't even know that the only windows on the bedrooms were illegal and installed after the rule change. Date of manufacture was stamped on the window. He was a waste. There are other problems he missed.

Sandra O said "Home inspectors can look behind closed doors, that was a complete wrong statement to make. While it's true they aren't going to see behind walls, they most certainly look in rooms even if the door is closed.   There is recourse when you have a HI that you don't have should you do it yourself. Licenced and certified home inspectors carry errors and omissions insurance AND are bonded.   While some major issues may be apparently obvious to an experienced home owner, serious problems may elude the average eye. Floor joists and foundation are good examples.   And as for people thinking this is "hobby or side job", a certified home inspector has logged approx 1000 study hours to complete the Carson Dunlop program.   Getting a red seal plumber, carpenter and electrician to all come in and spend the time with each FAR outweighs the cost of a home inspector in every way, let alone your time. Red seal does not always mean currently qualified.   Bottom line folks is that not everyone should be making a purchase of this magnitude going on "feels" like one poster said. It is a major investment and the best info should be in hand to make that descision. Home inspectors are there to answer your questions, reassure you of issues and provide you with confidence. Will there be bad experiences out there, yes of course, but people saying it's a waste of time and money are seriously misleading the average new home buyer.   This profession would not be in demand or so highly advised by banks and realtors if there was no value in it. "

I don't think I would trust a home inspector to give an opinion on floor joists or foundations. If I looked at a house and wanted those items looked at, I would call a structural engineer. They have 5 years of University and 3 years of on the job training before they are certified.  
 
I am not dissing HI, I think there are some great ones out there. You seem to have great knowledge on them, so I am wondering if you might know the scope of inspections they are trained in? If they have 1000 study hours, what are they studying? I'm not being rude, I really don't know and am interested in knowing. If they carry O and E insurance, what are they covered for?

We had a reputable builder go through a home before buying rather than a home inspector. A knowledgeable friend, relative could be helpful too.

I agree. They all pad their own pockets. Of course realtors have preferred inspectors they recommend. It's called scratching each other's back!!  
As mentioned before, get a tradesmen or a builder to inspect the home. They will have much more field experience then the guy who studied about houses for 1000 hrs in front of a computer.  
 
A home inspector should be your last choice for the actual home inspection!!