Indoor air quality can play a big part in the quality of life. Whether it be the office, your home, or your neighborhood, the air you breathe has to be clean enough so that you remain healthy and functional. Much can get in the way of this goal. Mold, radon, VOCs, CO, CO2 and more […]
4 Tips for Better Home Inspection Photos
Photos are an important part of home inspections. That being said, many older home inspectors who have been in the business for many years might forego taking pictures, just because they never have before. This is the kind of attitude that can put a company out of business. With the dawn of smartphones, photos changed. […]
6 Tips for Sump Pump Inspections
Many homeowners who have basements or crawl spaces that suffer water infiltration opt to install sump pumps. They’re not cheap, but they’re cheaper than the water damage that can result from a flooded basement. What should you look for when inspecting homes with sump pumps? The connection — Where is the water being discharged? Some […]
Stairway Safety: 4 Ways Home Inspectors Can Help
Homes can be fraught with dangers of all kinds, and one of the biggest is stairways. The National Safety Council says falls are one of the top three causes of preventable, injury-related deaths. Among the things homeowners can do to cut down on injuries in the home is to make stairs safer. What can you […]
4 Common Issues with Basement Window Wells
Regardless of whether basement window wells are deep or shallow, they come with some common problems. A window well is helpful in that it allows light and air into an otherwise dark and dank space, but it often lets in other, less-desirable elements, such as opossums, and water. What commonly goes wrong with window wells? […]
A Review of FABI Standards of Practice for Florida Home Inspectors
Not every state has its own association for home inspectors. Luckily, any home inspector working in the United States can qualify to join ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors. But depending on where you work, you may want to join your local society as well, if there is one. Some of these call their […]
Confused by the Fuse? Fuse Box 101 for Home Inspectors
Depending on what area of the country you work in, you may encounter fuse boxes rarely, frequently, or somewhere in between. Regardless, even if you’ve never seen a fuse box, you should be prepared for the day you do, which will likely arrive eventually. Fuse boxes haven’t been newly installed in homes since the 1970s […]
6 Deck Inspection Tips for Home Inspectors
No matter where you live and work, many homes you inspect will have decks. According to the Center for International Trade in Forest Projects, 85 percent of all single-family homes in the United States have a deck or similar structure. Decks are often built by handymen or homeowners because they are fairly simple to construct. […]
How to Manage Client Complaints about a Home Inspection
No matter what business you’re in, customers are going to complain. It’s inevitable. You can’t stop it, but you can learn to manage complaints effectively so they don’t hurt your business. One way to cut down on the number of complaints is to try to make sure the clients know what to expect ahead of […]
The Quintessential Home Inspection Contract Checklist
The home inspection field is especially fraught with lawsuits. Homeowners all too often believe that their home inspector is their guardian angel and will find any and every flaw in a home. In real life, it doesn’t play out this way. First-time homebuyers can have particularly unreasonable expectations. When a problem with their house crops […]