As one of the largest home inspection companies in Central Ohio we get to hear lots of odd things. Some of of the things we hear are odd, some are unethical things that other do, and then some make no sense and seem to be intended to prevent full knowledge of the home being disclosed.
We recently had a Springfield / Cable Ohio home buyer call us because he was having trouble getting people to inspect the home we was intending to purchase. His Springfield Ohio real estate agent told him not to hire a home inspector. His agent told him to hire several contractors and have them each inspect an area of the home. For example, hire a roofer to inspect the roof (295), hire an HVAC company to inspect the furnace and air conditioner (175), hire an electrician (125), hire a structure/foundation company (195 minimum), plumber (125), mold person (395), Termite company (100), landscaping person regarding grading and misc (?), insulation company (?), garage door company, etc.
Adding up the fees for these contractors you are paying $1410.00. To have them look at things that a general home inspection will look at for approximately 1/3 the fee. The fee this specific buyer paid was only $339 for the home inspection portion.
Hiring all these contractors to arrive at the home on the the same day and time will be nearly impossible plus very costly and will take up a lot of time just to try and get it done. The home buyer above was finding this out and that is why he contacted us after doing a web search and he found our home inspection website. Home inspectors are like general practitioners in the medical field, they look at thing overall and will direct you to a specialist if something is wrong.
An additional concern with hiring separate contractors is that there is a conflict of interest. When contractors are going to a home to inspect they are doing that with the intention of getting repair work to do. They actually hope to find things wrong that they will then get hired to repair or replace. Home inspectors are not allowed to offer to do repair work on homes that they inspect. Home inspectors are largely the only people in the home buying transaction in which getting paid in not dependent upon someone going through and buying the home. Home inspectors are neutral in the process. The only goal of a home inspector is to provide accurate unbiased information to the home buyer/client.
Did the real estate agent knowingly make it difficult in the hopes that they buyer would not get the home inspected fully? We do not know, we do know that the buyer saved a lot of money by hiring a general home inspector and he received a thorough inspection with recommendations of those areas that had concerns.
The Habitation Investigation company provides home inspections in the Central Ohio Columbus and home inspection in the Dayton Ohio areas, Hilliard, Powell, Pickerington, Pataskala, New Albany, Delaware, Gahanna, Westerville, Galloway, Grove City, Worthington, Dublin, Marysville, London, West Jefferson, Springfield, Mechanicsburg and other cities surrounding Columbus, Ohio. The most/best reviewed home inspection company in Columbus Ohio is Habitation Investigation LLC. The website is: https://www.homeinspectionsinohio.com Habitation Investigation can also do pool inspections as part of the home inspection
