Home Inspection Services

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. Always ask your home inspector for his or her qualifications. The home inspector you chose should have extensive experience in the home inspection field, and should have many years of actual residential construction experience as well. Also, they should be certified and hold membership and be active in one of the major trade associations such as InterNACHI.

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. We have the knowledge and expertise required to identify problem areas in your home. We have been full time home inspectors in San Diego since 2003 and began by working with real estate investors who would use our inspection services to determine if they should or should not invest in a piece of real estate.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. I truly enjoy what I do. Especially working with first-time buyers in San Diego as many of them do not have the necessary skills to assess a building and report on defects. These are the customers who are most appreciative of my inspection services and they rely on us everyday to help them navigate their home purchase.

Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A. Q: How long is this inspection going to take?
A: A typical inspection takes around 3 hours for an average size home.

Q: Can I just do the inspection myself and save money?
A: Absolutely. Assuming you have the skills to accurately assess the building structure, foundation, roofing, electrical, plumbing, floor and wall finishes and be able to determine if a building has any major deficiencies with the structure or systems.

Q: I got a checklist on the Internet. I already walked through the house so I just want you to do an overview.
A: We perform home inspections that meet the criteria of the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors, the largest and most respected trade association in the world. We are required to do a full inspection and in order to remain a member in good standing, we cannot take shortcuts.

Q: Did you take a correspondence course to become a home inspector?
A: We have 18 years in residential construction, 4 years in risk management assessment and take 30-40 hours of continuing education each year to stay updated on current trends on real estate and inspection techniques. We are fully qualified to assist you in what may be the largest purchase decision you make in your lifetime.

Q. Do you have a favorite story from your work?

A. Last week we were performing a home inspection on a older home in the San Carlos area. This home had a crawl space and part of our inspection protocol is to check for leaks in the plumbing system.

So down in the crawl space I go and position myself just under the tub drain for the master bathroom to get a snail's eye view of the . I've pre-arranged to have the buyer top-side standing in the tub awaiting my instructions.

So here we go, lets turn on the water and check the system... GUSH! I am now lying in a puddle of water, clothes soaked, equipment all wet and wishing I had positioned myself a wee bit further away.

Well suffice to say I ended up purchasing a new camera. Fortunately I always bring a change of clothes because in this business you never know what is going to happen while on a home inspection.

Until next time,

Q. Do you do any sort of continuing education to stay up on the latest developments in your field?

A. We attend annual conventions in our field to learn about current trends in the marketplace. We also take 30-40 hours of continuing education each year to stay at the top of our profession.

Q. Describe your most recent project, what it involved, how much it cost, and how long it took.

A. We did a foreclosure inspection on a 5500 sq. ft. custom home in Carlsbad. It was a beautiful home with a nice pool and an incredible view! Unfortunate for us but fortunate for the buyer, we had a special running at the time and did the home inspection on this sprawling estate for a measly $199.00. A home inspection on that size house would normally run $500 +. So it pays to shop around, check home inspection fees and look for home inspectors running specials.

Q. If you were advising someone who wanted to get into your profession, what would you suggest?

A. The ideal candidate looking at becoming a home inspector in San Diego would have extensive experience in the building trades. They would have exceptional customer service skills and be able to explain their findings in a written report format that is factual while at the same time avoiding inflammatory remarks. They should have a good working knowledge of safety, know how to use specialized tools such as a combustible gas meter, infrared thermography camera, moisture meters, etc. and be able to deduce the readings garnered from these devices into a format that a lay-person could understand. No easy task and it takes a person with experience in a variety of disciplines to pull off a successful career as a home inspector.