Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the value of getting a home inspection?
If you’re trying to sell your home, it can also be helpful to get a home inspection before putting your home on the market. The inspection may reveal problems with your home that you can repair before they dissuade a potential buyer.
How much will an inspection cost?
Inspection costs vary from company to company. At Rock Solid, our prices are based on 1. square footage of the home 2. age 3. type of foundation and 4. location (charges apply if over 40 miles from our office). We recommend paying a little more for an experienced, certified home inspector instead of hiring the cheapest one. When it comes to home inspections, you definitely get what you pay for. If you are price shopping, compare apples to apples. Ask the other inspection companies if they: 1. are certified 2. carry insurance 3. offer free termite inspections.
In fact, paying a slightly higher inspection fee may save you thousands of dollars in the future. Certified inspectors are trained to find problems that non-certified inspectors won’t see. Since your home is one of the largest investments you’ll ever make, ensure you’ll receive a quality inspection by choosing Rock Solid.
What is radon?
Can I attend the inspection?
The home inspection will take approximately 2 to 3 hours or more, depending on the size, age and condition of the home. You are not required to attend the inspection; however, if you would like to meet with the inspector, we recommend that you arrive 1.5 hours after the appointment start time.
A few minor problems have presented themselves since I moved into my new home a couple months ago. Why were these missed during my home inspection?
First and foremost, it’s important to remember that our priority is to identify major issues – the ones that may affect your decision to purchase the home. We are looking for the $2000 problems, and not necessarily the $200 problems. We may note some of these issues as a courtesy, but they are not our primary focus.
Some problems may also only be evident by living in a home. For example, a shower stall that leaks while in use may not leak when the tap is simply turned on and off. To that same effect, a roof or basement may only leak under certain weather conditions. And other issues might not be evident until carpets are lifted, furniture is moved, etc.
Beyond issues that are only evident under certain conditions, others may not present any clues to their existence at all. Our inspections are based on the past and current performance of a home, so it is unfair to assume we should be able to predict future problems that may arise.
Do you ever miss problems when inspecting a home?
No one is perfect, and yes, an occasional problem may be missed during a home inspection. A contractor might come in and say, “I can’t believe you had this home inspected and they missed _________.” Oversights, though infrequent, can happen for a variety of reasons.
Homeowners may not remember that it was snowing, or that the furnace could not be accessed or turned on due to the air conditioner being in use. There is no way for the contractor to know the exact circumstances surrounding the inspection.
While it’s easy to say the basement has a “moisture problem” when there is an inch of water on the floor, it’s rarely possible to predict such an issue will occur.
Spending an hour under the sink or disassembling a furnace is a great way to unearth certain problems. However, if we did that, our home inspections would no longer be affordable and would last several days. And since our evaluations are visual, we don’t remove fixtures, carpets, or do other invasive tests that could reveal hidden problems.
As home inspectors, it is our job to be generalists of the entire house. A roofing contractor, plumber, or flooring specialist may indeed have more in-depth knowledge of their areas of expertise.