Category Archives: Home Inspection Training

Home Inspector Ethics Complaints: How to Minimize Risk

Some people love to complain, but good planning can help minimize the risk. If you’re a home inspector for long enough, you’ll eventually meet a disgruntled customer. It happens to the best of inspectors, and it’s bound to happen to you. Maybe you’ll overlook an important defect. While that’s out of the ordinary, everyone can…

Vermiculite Insulation: Is it Really a Risk if it’s in the Attic?

It might look harmless, but some vermiculite have a nasty personality. Much has been made about the danger of asbestos over the years. It seems you can’t flip through the channels or scroll through a website without seeing an advertisement for legal services for asbestos victims. While our society has become more educated about the…

6 Reasons Why Condos Need Home Inspections

Appliances, plumbing and every other condo feature is just as likely to suffer defects as those in a single-family home. Because condos aren’t freestanding single-family homes and are part of a larger building, some buyers think home inspections aren’t as important. While it’s true that the condo association likely handles building maintenance, the interior is…

What is Dewpoint and How Does it Affect Your Inspections?

Condensation isn’t an anomaly, it’s a collection of water from the air. You’ve seen condensation on a water glass and felt dew on the grass in the morning or evening. The dew point is where water vapor in the air reaches its saturation point. This happens at a temperature and constant barometric pressure that condenses…

Tis the Season for Deck Inspections

The shabby look might be cute in photos, but a shabby deck endangers the whole family. Summer is in full swing, and that means more homeowners will be using their decks throughout the day and into the night. But like a lot of areas in and around the home, oftentimes a problem goes unnoticed until…

3 Ways Home Inspectors Combat Bad Press

Scandalous news usually ranks higher than anything else, so it shouldn’t surprise any home inspector when a rotten one makes the whole industry look bad. Social media spreads disparaging news like wildfire and before you know it, your business might suffer. Good thing you’re not defenseless in the battle between bad press and good home…

FHA Regulations Push Appraisers into Home Inspecting Territory

Recent clarifications in the FHA underwriting process have inadvertently created confusion in another area. Are appraisers and inspectors really all that different? Now it’s harder to tell. Appraisers for FHA are required to assess the value of homes, and part of the assessment is an inspection that hits the high points. But real estate agents,…

Foreclosure Sabotage: Home Inspector Concerns When Owners Take Revenge

What’s the last thing that a homeowner might feel like doing after learning that his house is in foreclosure? Being gracious, that’s what. It’s an unfortunate reality. For some homeowners, a foreclosure or short sale brings about heightened emotions, plenty of anger, and perhaps a bit of revenge for good measure. In the home inspection…

Expert Interview Series: Jeffrey Brookfield of AmeriSpec Inspection Services on Continuing Your Home Inspection Training

Jeffrey Brookfield is the Business Development Consultant with AmeriSpec of Canada. In this role he provides leadership, guidance, coaching and develops programs for the network of AmeriSpec offices across Canada. We recently checked in with him about the importance of continued training for home inspectors. Here’s what he had to say: How important is the…

To Refer or Not to Refer: Should Inspectors Recommend Contractors?

There’s a longstanding belief among some home inspectors that it’s bad form or even unacceptable to recommend a contractor who can make repairs. Some locales might have regulations regarding referrals, but many home inspectors think it’s an important part of the job. Your customers probably aren’t well-versed in home systems. After receiving a report that…