The purpose of a home inspection is to give unbiased information about a property. Currently, there are two basic yardsticks by which we can evaluate a home inspector. The most well known are Standards of Practice. These standards are typically created by an organization such as the California Real Estate Inspection Association (CREIA) or the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) and define what should and should not be expected from an inspector. A bit more obscure are "Standards of Care". These standards are not well defined, can vary regionally and have more to do with the level of time and effort that an inspector will put into an inspection, writing a report and further education. Finally, we have the Code of Ethics which standardizes our ethical responsibilities and code of conduct.
All three of these items are equally important parts to providing a quality inspection.
Spending the necessary time and effort during an inspection will provide the properly educated inspector with important knowledge about the property.
A clearly written and comprehensive report will give you information to help you during your decision making process while purchasing a home.
Education is an often neglected part of being a home inspector. While we are generalists and there are areas that we will not have complete knowledge, we care enough about our profession and our clients to continue the learning process and share our knowledge with our colleagues.
There are limits to what an inspector can see, but education will provide knowledge about where and how to look for problems, and whom to approach for answers. This is where a good professional organization comes in. CREIA provides members with a continual stream of information and the ability to share this knowledge with others in order to elevate the quality of our inspections as well as inspections in general. But, while we regularly attend chapter meetings and annual educational conferences, we also seek out other sources of information, such as manufacturers and recognized building standards. No matter who you choose to inspect your home, make sure that your home inspector spends the necessary time to further his/her education through research of materials/products, attending association chapter meetings, independent research, and does not just rely only on existing knowledge.
Home inspections in Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Windsor, Healdsburg, Sebastopol, Sonoma,
Cloverdale Geyserville, Guerneville, Oakmont, and most other communities in Sonoma County.
