relied upon the appraisals to determine the quality of the home.  The thought behind this practice was lender driven- if the bank would loan money on this house, there must not be much wrong with it.  Buyers typically relied upon the advice of their agents and on the seller’s knowledge of the property.  However, real estate agents, sellers, or lenders may not understand the systems of homes well enough to be able to identify construction defects, system operational requirements, and the interrelationships.

Inspections Training Associates states:

The beginning of the Home Inspection Industry in California is documented to 1979 when a small group of concerned Home Inspectors formed a study group to troubleshoot inspection techniques and enhance their knowledge.  Up to this point, inspections had been performed by a limited number of individuals across the state.  From meetings and correspondence of this group, the California Real Estate Inspection Association (CREIA) was born.  At about the same time, a group of inspectors on the East Coast formed the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) with a national vision in mind.  Both groups recognized the need for meaningful standards, ethical guidelines, and the self-regulation of this new and growing industry.

In the case of Easton vs. Strassburger in 1984, the California Supreme Court ruled that real estate agents had a duty to disclose known and unknown facts pertinent to real property.  This ruling was viewed as unreasonable; henceforth, California Senate Bill 1406 was created which mandated a seller to disclose these facts, “known and unknown”.  It was not uncommon prior to this for sellers to cosmetically mask a home’s defects, sell the home and walk away without recourse.  This Bill set a precedent for the rest of the country.  Penalties are assessed to sellers who knowingly omit this information.  Disclosure law typically requires that real estate agents perform their own ‘diligent visual inspection’ and disclose any defect that they may find.  As stated previously, real estate agents may not have enough technical knowledge to identify problems/defects with building systems and their inter-relationships, thereby creating a need for someone who indeed does have this knowledge.

What a Home Inspection Is

A home inspection is a limited visual inspection of the general systems and components of the home to identify and systematically or partially list in the report which may be in need of immediate major repair.  The home inspector will perform visual inspections of the homes’ building components, as well as evaluate their condition based upon industry standards.  The home inspector will also evaluate the utilities’ (heating/cooling, electrical, plumbing) performance.  He/she will operate the furnace in the fall/winter and operate the air-conditioning system in the spring/summer to determine if the system is operational, nearing the end of its useful life, or in need of further evaluation by an HVAC (heating ventilation and air conditioning) expert.  He/she will inspect the existing plumbing and advise to the condition of water supply and waste drainage.  The home inspector will determine the adequacy of the existing electrical supply to the house, the service panel, wiring adequacy, and breaker/fuse adequacy.  He/she will also check a representative number of outlets/switches for functionality and proper performance versus the location of outlet/switch.  The home inspector will also check the house for signs of water/moisture intrusion.

These are just a few things that inspectors are responsible for identifying.  Generally, the home inspection provides information for the buyer/seller concerning the condition of the home.  A report is derived from the inspection and given to the client (person with a contractual relationship with inspector).  Typically, this report is used as a negotiation tool in the sale of the property.

What a Home Inspection Isn’t

A home inspection does not provide for any guarantees, warranty, insurance policy, or substitute for real estate transfer disclosure.  The inspection does not include any destructive testing or dismantling.  Some items which are outside the scope of a home inspection are:

·    Building Code or zoning ordinance violations

·    Geological Stability or soils condition

·    Structural stability or engineering analysis

·    Termites, pests, or other wood destroying organisms

·    Asbestos, radon, formaldehyde, lea, water, or air quality, electromagnetic radiation , or any environmental hazards

·    Building value appraisal or cost estimates

·    Conditions of detached building (unless included in contract)

·    Pools, spas, and bodies of underground piping

·    Radio-controlled devices, automatic gates, elevators, or lifts.

In closing, a home inspector is a home generalist.  He/she provides information of the existing conditions of the homes’ components and systems and advises on issues of maintenance, further evaluation to be performed by qualified experts, and provides this information in a reporting format that is easily read and understood by the lay person.  For additional information on home inspections, it is recommended to contact ASHI (American Society of Home Inspectors) or NAHI (National Association of Home Inspectors).  For questions regarding State of Illinois specific home inspecting, I recommend contacting the State of Illinois Department of Professional Regulations.

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By Joe Richmond, President, SK8 Home Inspections.  SK8 Home Inspection Services, Inc. provides property inspections for single family, multi family, as well as condominiums.  Along with normal National Association of Home Inspectors (NAHI) standards of practice, SK8 Home Inspections Services, Inc. provides overall client satisfaction by informing them about the condition of the property in clear concise fashion.