by Jeffrey B. Allen

Created on: September 05, 2009

Purchse real estate based on fact, not emotion. When considering the purchase of a home or investment property, ask yourself whether or not you are qualified to inspect the property so you can be certain of the value of what you are buying. Most Realtors and seasoned investors, will recommend a professional home inspection. Even if they do not, you should have a thorough inspection performed before you purchase any property, but the inspection is only as good as the inspector.

If a Realtor recommends a particular inspector, you should ask a couple of questions. Of course, you will ask what the average cost is for an inspection of a house like the one you are about to purchase. The Realtor should be able to give you a pretty good idea.

Next, find out if the inspector is certified. That can be a bit sticky, because in some states there is no mandatory certification law on the books for home inspectors. There is usually, however, a state examination that should and does, lend a certain amount of credibility. The inspector you hire, should have credentials showing his successful completion of the state's examination as well as his compliance with other state regulations. By searching your state's website for home inspectors, you will easily come across the regulations you should expect your inspector to be in compliance with.

There are also several national training courses that a competent inspector would have completed. The one that is respected the most, by the majority of home inspectors, is AHIT (American Home Inspectors Training Institute). They offer one of the most comprehensive training courses - one that will give an inspector the best overall knowledge of the visible and sometimes invisible problems that can exist within the property.

Also, check to see that the inspector is a member of one of the national organizations for home inspectors. If he is not member, ask why, because he may be working toward his full membership, and that, in and of itself, is satisfactory. There are a large number of qualifying inspections necessary to be able to become a full member of ASHI, (American Society of Home Inspectors), or NAHI, (National Association of Home Inspectors) - two of the more prominent national organizations dedicated to the home inspection industry.

The fact that the inspector you are considering hiring has passed the state examination, and has completed a course given by one of the training institutes should be enough to insure you will receive a

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