Your clients found their dream home, and they’re ready to make an offer—excellent job! When an offer is officially accepted, your client is under contract. This is the perfect time to schedule a home inspection.

What is a home inspection?
The home inspection plays a significant role in the home-buying process. A home inspection is a professional consulting service that determines the present condition of the home’s major systems based on a visual inspection of accessible features. The home inspection report should cover the current condition of the home’s roof, structure, exterior, electrical system, heating and air conditioning system, plumbing system, insulation, interior, mechanical and natural ventilation systems. This could be your client’s largest investment; therefore, they’ll want to learn as much as possible about their newly constructed or existing house. A home inspection may identify the need for repairs or even builder oversights, as well as the need for maintenance to keep the house in good shape. After the inspection, your client should know more about the house, which will allow them to make decisions with confidence.

Let’s look at the timeline.
After the offer is accepted, your client is under contract. Scheduling the home inspection as quickly as possible is key. Following this, there’s time for the “inspection obligation.” This is when your client should ask the seller to remediate any significant items that come from the inspection. Reviewing and digesting the inspection report should be taken care of in a timely manner, as getting repair estimate reports could take additional time. The inspection report may recommend further evaluation of a system by a professional tradesman, which will then need to be scheduled. This is an important time in your client’s life, so it’s best not to have anything rushed, which could cause added stress. This is why it’s critical to make sure the home inspection is scheduled as soon as possible.

What are my client’s options?
Give your clients recommendations for a home inspector. It’s best to know if your recommended home inspector is licensed and has errors and omissions insurance, which can protect the buyer if the inspector is negligent. Locate a sample inspection report so that your clients know what to expect from their home inspection.

Call home inspectors in the area and ask for availability (or schedule online). Remember, time is of the essence, so ask when your clients should expect to receive the report. Also, have your clients ask your recommended home inspector for qualifications. In other words, what makes the inspector suitable for the task? These initial questions can include:

• How long have you been inspecting homes?
• Are you a full-time or part-time inspector?
• How many homes do you inspect each year?
• Are you experienced with this type of home?
• Do you offer any ancillary services?
• Do you provide repair estimate reports?

Lastly, have your clients look at the inspection company’s online reputation to see what others are saying so that your client receives a great inspection in a timely manner.

Buddy Stark is director of Operations at HomeTeam Inspection Service. For more information, please visit www.hometeam.com.