Property inspections need to be done thoroughly because they are only useful if they can generate a report that can be used to meet the purpose for the inspection. If an inspection is done improperly, the report will be shallow, generic, and pretty much useless. Money and time will have gone down the drain and more often than not, the property will need a second inspection. To validate all this, we look at the three things that a property owner can do to ensure that he or she gets an inspection done thoroughly.

Get an Experienced Inspector

The inspector who is tasked with the exercise and subsequent report submission should be one who has been around the block. In this Internet era, where property inspection apps and software are freely accessible, there are many newbie inspectors with smooth sales pitches. While we have nothing against the relatively new tech savvy inspector, we realize that there are things that only experience can teach. An old hand knows how to tailor an inspection to fit the purpose for which it was ordered. He or she, for example, knows what the points of emphasis are in an inspection for a property for sale.

Be There

Being present on the day of inspection is very important too. This is because the inspector will want to do a thorough job to please you. Being there also shows that you care about your property. Generally, people tend to respect persons whom they adjudge to be concerned about their property. The inspector will feel the importance of the inspection to you if you are there with him or her. It is however important to ensure that you don’t get overly involved. Nobody wants to be micro-managed, especially by someone who hired him or her to do a job. Give the inspector the space to do his or her job without interference. You might ask a few questions and point out a few areas that you need the inspector to place emphasis on but that’s about it. Anything more might come off as disrespectful.

Be Reasonable in Your Demands

Property inspectors carry out the inspection before retiring to their offices or homes to prepare the report. Unless you had indicated that you needed the report urgently, it’s best that you give the inspector three to five days to do the report. This gives him or her ample time to look at all that he had collected and put it together nicely into a comprehensive report. Being impatient with an inspector will not only force him or her into doing a shallow report but also damage any hope for establishing a good working relationship for future inspections. That being said, you should be firm about your requirements.

Other ways through which you can ensure that a property inspection is thorough is by providing previous inspection reports for comparison, asking to see the certification from an inspector and using inspection companies rather than individual inspectors.