Here are some of the resources available:
1. Home Inspection Video - See a home inspection!
2. Read an actual home inspection report.
3. Read/search Barry Stone's column, Inspector's In the House (below).
4. Send a question using the form to the right. ===>
5. If you are a Seller, get your own inspection before you put your home on the market.

California does not require any license to be a home inspector, so it is important for both home buyers and sellers to make sure that they hire an inspector who is a certified residential inspector and who carries errors and omissions insurance. To help you think through the selection of your home inspector, click here for our 10 Tips.

QUESTIONS/ANSWERS Click on any of these topics to read questions and answers by syndicated columnist Barry Stone.
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As a buyer, you can be present on the home inspection (and we really recommend it). Being there gives you a chance to ask questions, to see and discuss what Mark has found, and to ask other questions about your new home. Some of the areas inspected include: structure, heating and cooling, roof, electrical system, plumbing and fixtures, attic, basement and/or crawl space, foundation, gutters, insulation, interior and exterior walls, porches and decks, and the water heater and appliances.

A good inspector helps both buyers and sellers become aware of any defects that weren't already known. (If they had been known, they would have been disclosed.) Please note: Sellers have no obligation to repair any defects. Repair requests are just that--requests. However, if an unknown defect is a safety issue, violates the then-current building code, or affects functionality, many sellers will accommodate the request in one way or another. A good inspection helps to put all those issues on the table so that everyone is satisfied with the transaction.

For information about various topics, just click on any of the links to the left or run your own search! One of our 600+ articles is posted below.

Home Inspector Bans Buyer From Inspection
Inspector's in the House by Barry Stone, Certified Building Inspector

Dear Barry,
When we purchased our home, the home inspector didn't want us to attend the inspection. He simply mailed us the report. Since moving in, we've found defects that were not reported to us, and now we feel that our presence at the inspection should have been allowed. Among the undisclosed problems were ungrounded outlets and several venting problems affecting furnace safety (discovered by the man from the gas company). I guess not being allowed at the inspection should have been a red flag. Ben

Dear Ben,
My question to you is, were you represented by a qualified real estate agent. Real estate professionals typically arrange for their buyers either to attend the home inspection or at least meet with the inspector at the end of the inspection for a full review of the findings. Lack of adequate representation, or no representation, can adversely affect the outcome of a real estate purchase.

Refusal to permit buyer participation at a home inspection is indeed a red flag. No
home inspector with a healthy understanding of the profession would deny homebuyers the right to attend their own inspection. The buyers are paying for it and have every right to be there. Inspectors of this ilk have no concept of the service business they are in and should either reevaluate their professional function or find another way to make a living. It's a matter of attitude, of realizing that the purpose of the inspection is to provide buyers with a thorough understanding of the condition of the property being purchased -- to be the buyers' private consultant and advocate. That's the essential approach, and without it all other aspects of the inspection become suspect, particularly the thoroughness of disclosure. This fact has now become painfully apparent to you, as undisclosed defects are gradually revealed.

Qualified home inspectors routinely test accessible wall outlets and report when they are not grounded. Failure to note such an obvious and common defect is a sign of professional negligence. Additionally, various defects involving the ventilation of gas-burning fixtures are commonly reported by qualified home inspectors, as these can significantly affect the safety of occupants.

The unanswered question now is, "How many additional defects remain to be discovered and disclosed?" This uncertainty can only be resolved by way of another home inspection, performed by the most thorough, experienced, and well-reputed home inspector you can find. Call a few real estate offices in your area and ask who is known for meticulous investigative detail. Find someone who has many years of experience in the business, who is a member of a recognized home inspector association, and who welcomes you with open arms to the inspection.

Distributed by Access Media Group. To write to Barry Stone, please visit him on the web at www.housedetective.com.