Other than choosing the right home, choosing the right home inspector is one of the most important decisions that you can make in the home-buying process. The reason for this is simple. A well-trained and experienced inspector will use his or her knowledge to help you to understand the true condition of the home that you are considering purchasing. This knowledge is essential as you go forward with the contract to purchase the home, negotiate for repairs, or back out of the contract altogether. How to choose the best home inspector to help you in this crucial process is the question that I will answer for you in this blog.

I often hear or read questions that saysomethinglike“Can’t I do my own home inspection?” Or “My uncle is an electrician. Can’t I have him do my home inspection?” Home Inspectors are trained to know and understand building codes and standards. They understand safety standards and know what to look for when it comes to safety. An experienced home inspector will have performed thousands of inspections, and will have learned where to look and what to look for in order to find those serious, but hard-to-find problems with a home.

Reading and understanding a home inspection report can often be a daunting and sometimes scary thing. When you receive and read over your report, you may see many items that are marked as “deficiencies.” This does not mean that the home is falling apart, because most homes (even “good” homes) have multiple deficiencies. Don’t let the number of deficiencies scare you. There may indeed be one or two items that are very serious that need to be addressed or, in the worst cases, may even cause you to change your mind about purchasing the home, but this is not the case with most homes.

In Texas, home inspectors are licensed and regulated by the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC). TREC has set forth the requirements of a residential home inspection. The standard home inspection will cover almost every system in the home. It covers the following systems:

A typical home inspection in Texas will cost anywhere from about $250 - $500. While this may sound like a lot of money to some home buyers – especially when added to all of the other expenses involved with purchasing a home,

At Morgan Inspection Services, we use an infrared camera on all of our home inspections to help us to see things that otherwise might be invisible. What exactly is an infrared camera and what does it do? Infrared is part of the non-visible wavelength of light. Heat creates infrared energy. So basically, an infrared camera is a camera that can see heat (and cold). Infrared cameras, or thermal imaging, sees heat differences, and these heat differences are often clues to hidden problems. A home inspector who is also a Certified Residential Thermographer can use an infrared camera to look for thermal anomalies (indications of hot or cold areas that look a little out of the ordinary.) Since water cools as it evaporates, it produces a very obvious cold spot. Likewise, the flow of electricity heats up wires, switches, connections, appliances, etc. This is normal. But if there is a damaged or loose electrical connection, then that connection will most likely be hotter than the rest of the area, and will stand out as a hot spot to a thermal camera.

If you are planning to sell your home, then there is a good chance that it will be inspected once you have it under contract. There are some things that you as the homeowner can do to help the buyer to get a more positive inspection report. Obviously, a better report will help the buyer to see the home in a more positive light and, therefore, will increase the likelihood of the sale.

Here are some things that you can do.

I’ve spoken to many homebuyers who are concerned about the cost of a home inspection. As the expenses of buying a home pile up, it is easy to understand why it might be tempting to do some comparison shopping and to choose the least expensive home inspection that you can find. However, this is not a good idea – here’s why. 

If you are planning to sell your home, then there is a good chance that it will be inspected once you have it under contract. There are some things that the homeowner can do to help the buyer to get a more positive inspection report – and, obviously, a better report will help the buyer to see the home in a more positive light.

When most people think about home inspections, they think that is something that people do before they purchase a home. While that is true, homebuyers are not the only people who should have a home inspection.

Many people maintain their vehicles better than they maintain their homes. Our homes are literally our refuge from the storm, and for the most part, they do a great job protecting us. On the other hand, they suffer a lot of abuse

So, you've decided to purchase a home. This is likely the biggest purchase of your life. Whether you've never purchased a home before or have purchased several over the years, there can be some stress involved and a lot of questions to be answered before the home purchase is completed. One of those questions is whether or not to have the home inspected.

I’m Mike Morgan, proud owner of Morgan Inspection Services.

I look forward to sharing my story. I hope that you will enjoy getting to know me better.