Here are some of the resources available:
1. Home Inspection Video - See a home inspection!
2. Read an actual home inspection report.
3. Read/search Barry Stone's column, Inspector's In the House (below).
4. Send a question using the form to the right. ===>
5. If you are a Seller, get your own inspection before you put your home on the market.

California does not require any license to be a home inspector, so it is important for both home buyers and sellers to make sure that they hire an inspector who is a certified residential inspector and who carries errors and omissions insurance. To help you think through the selection of your home inspector, click here for our 10 Tips.

QUESTIONS/ANSWERS Click on any of these topics to read questions and answers by syndicated columnist Barry Stone.
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As a buyer, you can be present on the home inspection (and we really recommend it). Being there gives you a chance to ask questions, to see and discuss what Mark has found, and to ask other questions about your new home. Some of the areas inspected include: structure, heating and cooling, roof, electrical system, plumbing and fixtures, attic, basement and/or crawl space, foundation, gutters, insulation, interior and exterior walls, porches and decks, and the water heater and appliances.

A good inspector helps both buyers and sellers become aware of any defects that weren't already known. (If they had been known, they would have been disclosed.) Please note: Sellers have no obligation to repair any defects. Repair requests are just that--requests. However, if an unknown defect is a safety issue, violates the then-current building code, or affects functionality, many sellers will accommodate the request in one way or another. A good inspection helps to put all those issues on the table so that everyone is satisfied with the transaction.

For information about various topics, just click on any of the links to the left or run your own search! One of our 600+ articles is posted below.

FHA Inspector Are Not Home Inspectors
Inspector's in the House by Barry Stone, Certified Building Inspector

Dear Barry,

Before we bought our home, it was evaluated by the FHA home inspector, but he missed every important defect. Since then, we've spent lots of money on repairs, including a leaking shower, a rotted bathroom floor, three defective windows, a faulty furnace, and problems with the electrical wiring. How could the inspector have been this negligent? Melinda

Dear Melinda: You have made the costly and common error of equating an FHA inspector with a home inspector, when in fact, there are no similarities of any kind when comparing these two distinct professions.

Home inspectors provide disclosure of visible property defects and spend several hours evaluating each home. They operative and inspect plumbing, heating, and electrical fixtures, they walk on the roof, they crawl through the attic, they inspect the electrical wiring in breaker panels, test electrical outlets, and inspect the foundation crawlspace beneath each building. They evaluate fireplaces, test built-in appliances, and verify compliance with numerous safety requirements. They review site drainage conditions, check for signs of faulty construction, and report on physical damage and substandard workmanship.

FHA inspectors do little, if any, of this. In fact, they are more correctly called "FHA appraisers." Their inspection, when compared with an actual home inspection, is best described as a brief walkthrough. Basically, they look around, take measurements, and note the apparent overall condition of the property. They operate nothing. They test nothing. They do not go on the roof, they do not enter the attic or crawlspace, and they do not determine functional conditions of fixtures. They do not pass go, but typically do collect more than $200.

It was your agent's responsibility to recommend a professional home inspector (assuming that you were represented by an agent). It was the seller's responsibility to disclose all known defects. All you can do now is hire an actual home inspector to see what other conditions remain undisclosed.

Distributed by Access Media Group. To write to Barry Stone, please visit him on the web at www.housedetective.com.