Isn't one inspection as good as the next?

What's the difference between Certified, Licensed and RHI?

Are credentials necessary?

What's an NCA number?

I'm safe hiring from a franchise, right?

Are your inspectors engineers?

A pre-list inspection was already done on the property. Isn't that good enough?

What should I ask a prospective inspector?

Do you have Errors & Omissions insurance?"

What's done on a typical inspection?

What types of inspections do you do?

Why don't you give a discount?

Isn't one inspection as good as the next?

No.  Not all inspectors are the same nor are all inspections the same.

Inspectors, excluding franchises or large companies, are usually sole proprietors who choose how they will go about their business.  If they belong to the Ontario Association of Home Inspectors (OAHI), they will abide by the Standards of Practice.  However, they decide on their own which tools they will use, which reporting system they will use and how much time they will spend at each inspection.  Some inspectors routinely exceed the Standards of Practice in an effort to provide more information and better customer service.

What's the difference between Certified, Licensed and RHI?

There are no such designations as Certified and Licensed in Ontario.  They sound good, but the inspectors who use these titles are not members of the Ontario Association of Home Inspectors (OAHI) and, consequently, you cannot verify their credentials.

RHI stands for Registered Home Inspector.  This is the highest level of accreditation in Ontario. These Inspectors have achieved the highest level of educational requirements as set by the Association and performed a predetermined number of paid inspections.  Inspectors in their first year would require a minimum of 200 paid inspections along with all the educational requirements before being considered for the RHI designation. They must also complete annual educational updates to maintain their designation.

Registered Home Inspector is also the only provincially recognized designation in Ontario.  Rob is one of only 240 or so Registered Home Inspectors in the entire province.

Are credentials necessary?

We’d like to answer this one with a real life story.  Rob met a fellow while taking an electrical course at Humber College.  They became friends.  Only this fellow failed the electrical course.  Because this fellow dropped out of Humber they started to lose touch.  He then dropped out of the Association.  But this fellow does do inspections.  He does cash only deals to supplement his full time job.  Unfortunately, the requirements of the Association are too stringent for many inspectors and they simply give up and go on to practice with incomplete or no formal training.

What's an NCA number?

The National Certification Program is an initiative designed to bring about a minimum standard to the home inspection industry, currently an unregulated field, across the country.  The National Certification Authority (NCA) is the governing body that oversees the National Certification Program in Canada.  An NCA number is assigned to qualified inspectors meeting all of the requirements to become a National Certificate Holder, including a Test Inspection with Peer Review (TIPR). 

Rob Hermann (#NCA00055) is one of a small group of examiners that facilitate the Test Inspection with Peer Review (TIPR) portion of the process whereby new candidates for the program must pass a test inspection of a house with known defects to receive their NCA number.  Candidates reach the final TIPR stage only after successfully meeting a host of both technical and practical requirements verified by an extensive background review.  Requirements of becoming a National Certificate Holder can be found at “How to become a National Certificate Holder” on the CAHPI National website.

As a consumer, the minimum credentials to look for is a National Certificate Holder (NCH); better is an NCH and OAHI member and best will always be an NCH-RHI-OAHI member. 

The NCA will allow inspectors a bit more freedom to move about the country, but as Ontario has the most stringent standards, an RHI will always be your best bet to finding the most qualified inspector.

I'm safe hiring from a franchise, right?

Not necessarily.  You want to know that you can check on someone’s qualifications.  You can’t necessarily do that with a franchise.  We’ve already said if they aren’t members of the Association, you can’t verify their credentials.

Companies cannot be members of the Association, only individuals.  That means if the inspector they want to send to you is not a member, you are in the same boat as with other non-Association members: you just don’t know.  Also, because the inspection pie has to be cut into smaller slices with a franchise, they tend to attract only the very junior inspectors who are looking to gain experience.

Are your inspectors engineers?

No.  There are some companies who advertise that their inspectors are engineers and it all sounds great.  The truth is there are many types of engineers out there, not only structural engineers, which is the type we automatically think of.  The other truth is that you are not getting an engineer’s report.  You are going to get a regular inspection done to the Standards of Practice of the OAHI.  Go ahead, ask them.

A pre-list inspection was already done on the property. Isn't that good enough?

It depends on several things.  The first thing to check is whether or not the inspector who did the inspection is qualified (see the first five questions).  If the inspector checks out, then you need to compare the summary sheet with the report.  Some inspectors and companies will gloss over things to make the house more appealing.  There should be a summary in the actual report outlining the major problems and you’ll want to ensure they match up with the narrative summary being handed out.  There are some inspectors who work by the adage “talk soft, write hard”.  Significant deficiencies are often glossed over or even omitted from the take home summary, hiding behind the excuse if called later with “well, it’s in the report”.

What should I ask a prospective inspector?

You want to ask them what services they offer.  Let them talk first.  Then if you think they haven’t touched on everything, ask specific questions: do you go on the roof?  What tools do you use, e.g., video camera, electronic moisture meter, reporting system?  You also want to know their experience, how long have they been in business.  You should want the best inspector, not the cheapest.

Do you have Errors & Omissions insurance?

Yes.

What's done on a typical inspection?

Inspectors should look for significant or major deficiencies that have the potential to cost you a lot of money, typically within the first five years of ownership.  A professional home inspection should look at the property in terms of its operation as a complete system; that is, how all the individual components work together to form the system that makes up your home.  In addition to items of potential significant cost, your inspector should also look for and point out issues of a safety nature – regardless of cost.  At the exterior, your inspector should check and report on the roof, flashing, chimney(s), soffit, fascia, eaves, downspouts, walls and finishes, windows, doors, foundation, and lot grading.  Inside, you should expect your inspector to review the heating, cooling, plumbing, and electrical systems.  Interior finishes, doors, windows, and attic insulation should be inspected and reported on as well.  A knowledgeable inspector should be able to alert you to the most common insurability issues too.  Many homes today encounter problems with availability of insurance unless first undergoing significant and costly upgrades.  No Insurance Means No Mortgage.

What types of inspections do you do?

We do all types of residential and light commercial.  Our residential inspections include standard-offer (an offer has been made conditional on home inspection), pre-offer (an inspection is done before an offer is presented; very common where multiple offers are expected), pre-list (an inspection is done for the vendor prior to selling), PDI (pre-delivery inspection for new homes), Tarion warranty (30-day & year end), maintenance (for people who want to know the condition of the house they currently own) and single-item (one specific issue needing investigation).  Light commercial usually means storefront properties with apartments above or light industrial units.  We also do small- to mid-size apartment buildings (typically from two unit duplexes to twenty-four unit multi-storey buildings).

Why don't you give a discount?

We do not offer discounts because it just isn’t fair to anyone.  It isn’t fair to all the others who do pay full price, and it isn’t fair to expect the inspector to subsidize your expenses.  Full time professional inspectors are business owners: they have overhead office costs, expensive tools that need replacing, report books to purchase, gasoline costs, uniforms, and on and on.  Usually inspectors who are willing to give discounts are the inspectors who aren’t getting enough business – they’re hungry.  So, rest assured that no one is going to pay less than you.  Our prices are posted online (HomeCore Inspection Rates) and everyone is treated in the same professional manner.

The only discount we do offer is when someone does not buy the house we inspected for them, either because the deal fell through or they were not the lucky bidder in a multiple-offer scenario.  When they book another inspection, we can swap the report pages in their binder.  This $25 discount saves them from having to “buy” a second binder.  Good for the environment, good for the client!