The inspections is only a 2-4-hour time frame which looks at the current state of the house. Inspectors cannot see behind walls and cannot foretell the future. That being said, we try to be as thorough as possible, and as a company we do several thousand inspections per year, so we have the experience to know what we are looking for.
The biggest confusion comes when people are planning on making renovations after they move in, and they bring in a contractor tells them their inspector missed things. In reality, the inspector did not miss those things, and the contractors referring to the rules they have to follow when they build out new items. The house you are buying is likely decades or older and was built under those rules, codes and guidelines. A home inspection is looking at the current state of the property, not the rules that have to be followed when you make changes. So, if you are going to do a renovation of your kitchen, we have no idea whether or not your current electrical sub service can or cannot support that. That’s a question for the general contractor or the electrician.
We almost always defer to the professional in a particular area, the only time we do not, is when they show up and try to scare you. When you only need a new $150 part, and they are telling you that you need a whole new HVAC system or a whole new electrical service. Don’t let the scare tactics make you think that you bought a lemon.
On a side note, all of our inspections include thermal imaging of the entire exterior and interior. This actually does allow us to see into walls, thermal camera picks up differences in temperature, so we can find:
· water issues
· electrical issues
· and insulation issues
Examples of things that show up here very easily with the thermal camera, would be water leaks behind showers, roof leaks, disconnected ducting in the walls, and outlets and ceiling fans that might be running hot.