Why Choose ABI

All inspectors were not created equal.

California does not regulate property inspections, but instead inspectors shall only abide the California Business and Professional Code or any established associations (ASHI, InterNACHI, CREIA, ASTM) standards of practice and standard guidelines for a residential visual inspection. There is no educational standard or restrictions on someone to qualify, or requires license or certification to become a home inspector.There are three types of property inspectors. First is a theoretical inspector (studied inspection by reading) or a specialty contractor (43 classifications) or a handyman who has not built a house from the ground up. Second is a licensed general contractor who oversees projects and coordinate the licensed subcontractors for a contracted job. Third is an architect or registered professional engineer who has established mathematical knowledge about the design of systems, components and integrity of structures. The first and second types are not allowed by law to comment about or perform any analysis of the systems, components, or structural integrity of a dwelling as per California Business and Professions Code Section 7196. Unqualified inspectors will just refer the problems that they do not know to qualified contractors for further evaluation for fear of potential liability. Experience also greatly varies. Some inspectors may have many years of experience, but as a handyman, plumber, electrician, carpenter, etc…, or they do not have ample experience in other 43 job classifications. Many new and inexperienced home inspectors will try to lure unsuspecting consumer with incredibly low prices. A quality professional Real Estate inspector is not cheap because you are paying for the inspector’s level of education, qualifications, experience, reputation, and quality of report. You stand to lose far more from using an inexperienced inspector. The value of a complete and thorough home inspection by a professional home inspector far outweighs the fee they charge. If you cannot afford the best home inspector, how will you afford the cost of deficiencies the inexperienced home inspector fails to report? If the inspector is not qualified, serious disputes may come up after the sale, and increasing the agent’s liability. Many of the inspectors most especially those “theoretical inspector” type, make their report just like a “visual snapshot” of what they see or just simply refer some of their findings to a qualified licensed contractor for further evaluation, because an inspector is not allowed to make any personal recommendation for anything he/she not qualified. Inspector findings sometimes is a typical case of hypothetical reasoning, just like one that you find in diagnostic systems, where one may like to assume first that a certain fault has occurred, and then later to make predictions on the basis of this assumption, and then to verify whether these predictions are true. The problem with this reasoning is that the inspector does not have time to verify if their prediction is true unless otherwise he/she has compelling evidence or he/she is qualified. If the inspector is not qualified, the resulting inspection and report are mere speculation without validation.  Inspectors were only trained to identify visible defects but not trained to analyze defects. Construction and structural defects analysis are usually referred to a specialty contractor and engineer or architect respectively by an inexperienced inspector to cover them from liability. To analyze defects, the inspectors should have extensive experience (hands on) and knowledge (codes, standards, and mathematical) in general building (residential, commercial or industrial). To be qualified to analyze structures, the inspector should be a licensed general building contractor with many years of experience, or a civil engineer or an architect.