Why I’m a First-Time Homebuyer Friendly Inspector

A first-time home-buyer is pretty self-explanatory: you’re buying a home for the first time (probably the biggest purchase you’ll ever make), and aren’t very familiar or experienced at it, so you’re bit nervous and worried about what you’re doing. Maybe that last part is a stretch and you’re completely confident in what you’re doing; the point is that everybody who buys a house has to do it for the first time, and unless you’re a realtor or a home inspector, you’re probably not familiar with the process.

As an inspector, being first-time home-buyer friendly means that I will take extra care to ensure you know what is going on, every step of the way, and that I will make myself as available as possible to you for any questions you may have or advice you may seek.

1) Many first-time home-buyers like to be present for the inspection, so that they can ask questions on what I find and what to do about the issues. I’m fine with this, but most home inspectors aren’t as it can really slow down the inspection process, easily adding an hour or more to the entire job. I do prefer that we do a walk-through at the end of an inspection rather than DURING the inspection, but whatever you need to make you feel more comfortable about the situation I’m fine with.

2) A vast majority of first-time home-buyers that aren’t in the construction industry don’t have the first idea about who to call for any particular issue that are discovered during the inspection. While it’s a conflict of interest for a home inspector to ever suggest contractors or professionals by name (this one is for your realtor to suggest), I’m more than happy to disclose what type of contractor or professional to call. We at Ensure Home Inspections recommend that on any job you get quoted more than a couple hundred dollars to fix, you get at least 3 bids and opinions from other contractors on, to help ensure you aren’t getting ripped off.

3) A vast majority of first-time home-buyers that aren’t in the construction industry also don’t necessarily know the correct solution to a problem listed in the report. While home inspectors usually recommend that you call a professional in the particular field the deficiency is found in so that they can further evaluate and prescribe a solution, when asked we are more than happy to give you an idea on what our preferred solution may be.

4) In my opinion, real service is not just doing the inspection but advising your client and giving them access to the knowledge that you’ve accumulated through the years so that they can not only make the best decision regarding the value of their purchase, but how to best take care of their home after they move in. In this regard, any question you have in the future you are welcome to shoot our way. Ensure Home Inspections is trying to build long-term relationships for long-term referrals and business, not hit-and-run short-term business.

Being first-time home-buyer friendly is supporting your client as much as they will allow. In practice, we treat second-time, third-time, and fourth-time buyers with the same care and dedication that we treat the first-time buyers, but we find that FTHB are a bit more responsive to the hand-holding that we try to do in order to make sure you feel comfortable with the entire process.