Are home inspector reviews accurate?
Online reviews can be helpful, but anyone looking for a home inspector should bear in mind that online reviews may not tell the full story. Like many trade professionals, you can find reviews of home inspectors on Google, Angi, Trustpilot and Yelp. And just like in those professions, more people leave a review after a negative experience than after a positive one, leading to a plethora of one-star reviews that don’t five the full picture. Former customers may write glowingly about their positive experience with the inspector, or they might leave paragraphs about unprofessional behavior, lack of skills and other complaints.
One or two negative reviews on an otherwise well-rated inspector should be taken with a grain of salt. Homes are personal, but an inspector’s job is to be impartial and objective in their findings– that is not always appreciated by all parties involved in a transaction. Sometimes, the person leaving the review wasn’t even the inspector’s client. As professionals in the real estate business, we’ve seen great inspectors receive terrible reviews from agents frustrated they couldn’t make a sale on a deficiency-riddled home, or from sellers who blame the inspector for pointing out any flaws in their home. Since a negative inspection report can cause buyers to withdraw their bid on a home, frustrated parties sometimes take their anger out on the inspector rather than face facts: the home has issues.
How to find a home inspector with good reviews
There are a variety of reasons you might need a home inspection, and there are many ways to go about choosing the right one for you. Whether you’re buying, selling or renovating a property, below are the tried and true methods of finding a home inspector with good reviews:
Ask your agent for an inspector they trust
Your real estate agent definitely knows a few inspectors. If you’re happy with your agent and have trusted their judgment so far in your home-buying journey, ask for their recommendation. It may ultimately fall on you to book and coordinate with the inspector yourself, but your agent should at least be able to give you a few phone numbers or websites to guide your search.
However, if you have any inkling that your agent is…less than scrupulous, it might be better to not take their recommendation, or to vet their choices thoroughly before committing to one. We hear plenty of stories from customers who trusted their agent’s pick, only to find out the inspector purposefully neglected to mention major deficiencies on a property just so the sale would go through and the inspector can keep getting jobs through the agent’s referral. On the opposite end of the inspector spectrum, there are inspectors who blow minor deficiencies out of proportion and can present easily repairable defects in the worst light, thereby tanking the sale of an otherwise good home. Buyers should look for a well-reviewed inspector with a reputation for a well-balanced attitude with accurate and informed diagnostic information in their reports.
Search for a home inspector through other credible real estate professionals
Agents are the only real estate professionals who have a few home inspectors in their contacts. Your appraisal, mortgage, insurance or contracting company also likely know some home inspectors in your area, through their own business dealings with inspectors. Professional associations like the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) or the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI) keep online directories of all their members; the directories can be searched by location or name. Membership in these groups usually requires a certain number of training hours or completed work hours as a home inspector.
If you’re managing this real estate transaction entirely on your own, without an agent or other real estate professional, we recommend you use ASHI or InterNACHI to find local inspectors, and then carefully read their reviews on Google, Angi, Yelp or Trustpilot. Narrow down a shortlist, then begin contacting the list for quotes and scope of work. Every inspector has their own pricing and their own list of services. One inspector’s plumbing inspection may differ greatly from another local inspector’s scope for plumbing. This process is time consuming, but is one of the only ways to ensure you get a qualified, well-regarded inspector who can deliver a thorough inspection.
But if you don’t want to do all the legwork yourself…why not let Inspectify handle it?
Inspectify inspectors have great reviews
Every industry has their bad apples– and we definitely want to help you avoid working with them! Inspectify vets all our inspector partners ourselves, making sure they are experienced, capable and licensed (when applicable) before we ever send them to inspect your home. We also welcome our customers to let us know whenever they feel short-changed or disrespected by any of our inspectors, so we can address the problem and find solutions for all parties.
Just pay online and we take care of booking, pricing and coordination with the inspector– you just have to tell us the home’s address and let us know when it’s available for inspection. After the inspection, you can get a readable, thorough report sent over within 24 hours– and repair estimates are included at no extra cost. It’s easier than trying to decide whether an inspector’s negative review is based in fact or came from Karen having a bad day, that’s for sure!