Selecting a Home Inspection Company: You’re Hiring a Person, Not a Company

 

Whether buying or selling, you want the best home inspector company you can find to make sure your interests are protected.

You’ll find there are many inspection firms to choose from in the Ottawa area — some with multiple inspectors, others with just one or two, like my company, Bent Nails Inspections.

Does it matter if you go with a multi-inspector firm versus one, like mine, that’s run by an owner/inspector?

Yes, it does!

When an owner only has themselves as an active inspector and still does inspections, he has to learn to easily manage & organize themselves. Being in the field regularly keeps my skills up-to-date, which is very important to the growth and development of himself and the company.

Here’s the problem with very large inspection companies: Most of their inspectors are fairly new to inspecting homes, normally with about 80 to 90 percent of the group being non-seasoned inspectors. The companies’ sales people will tell you their inspectors are highly-trained, but this is misleading. Sure, you can train an inspector to look for common issues – to uncover everyday defects that can be found using the minimum standards of the profession. But trust me – the minimum is exactly what they will be giving you. They will miss items a more experienced inspector will find. And these are often the costliest defects to remedy.

To make you feel more secure about using a non-seasoned guy or gal, large home inspectors will offer you a plethora of different types of warranties – most of which are not worth the paper they’re printed on. Several years ago, there was a major lawsuit where a judge ruled that one large inspection company (not to be named here) wasn’t backing their warranties. Ultimately, those warranties are like lots of fireworks with no bang.

The wisest choice is a small home inspection company with a very well seasoned inspector – being in the construction field for 28+ years – because only time in the field uncovering uncommon defects makes someone a great inspector. This real-world knowledge can’t be taught. It only comes through experience. There’s an old joke you may have heard: What do you call a doctor who graduates at the very bottom of his class? They call him “Doctor”! Now technically, this guy is “trained.” But I’m guessing you wouldn’t let him anywhere close to you with a scalpel.

Only hard work and experience make someone great at what they do. So, if you want the “average” inspectors who deliver the bare minimum, then, by all means, call one of the big guys. If you want to feel confident that the new home you’re thinking about purchasing isn’t a money pit, then go with a seasoned inspector with the battle scars to prove it – someone with knowledge and insights developed through training and, most importantly, years of solid construction & home inspection experience.

While it may seem that a large home inspection company would be a better choice than a small one, you’re not hiring a company – you’re hiring a person. Bent Nails Inspections is a small, highly-experienced, inspector-owned company that will be straight forward with findings. I hope you will give me a call when you’re looking for the right person to inspect your current or future home.

About Bent Nails Inspections:

Darren proudly provides quality home inspections throughout parts of Canada & some parts of the U.S. seven days a week, including evenings and weekends. Check bentnails.ca for locations I serve & hope to see you soon.

Contact him at (613) 355-0021 or bentnailinspect@gmail.com.

• Best inspector in Ottawa & top inspector in Ontario for customer reviews
• The most comprehensive home inspections available
• Friendly, down-to-earth service from someone you can trust