Interviewing Inspection Companies? Here’s a Checklist You Can Use!
We want you to choose House Exam Inspection, but we know you want to be comfortable with your choice between companies. So, here is a questionnaire you can use to ask us all the same questions. If any company seems irritated with your interview … well, we think that might give you a hint about their service. You can download the .pdf version by clicking Choosing a Home Inspection Company, but you could just read below to see our answers first.
Interviewing an Inspection Company
When calling to interview Fort Worth area inspection companies, it is important to compare all companies on the same criteria – the old “apples to apples” idea. If every company tells you different facts, how do you sort it out? Here is a list of questions that should provide you with adequate facts to help you decide which company is best for your needs. Of course, we get to answer first. But you get to decide, so we’ve provided you with ample space for your notes.
1. What does your inspection cover?
Our inspection covers all systems and components in the house that we can have access to at the time of the inspection. We check roof to foundation, wall-to-wall, inside-out. If we can get to it and operate it, we’ll report on it. Foundations, roof, attic, exterior and interior walls, ceilings, floors windows, electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling (if it’s not too cold outside to operate the A/C), appliances, etc. If it has a sprinkler system we check that at no charge. We both also have a license for doing wood destroying insect inspections (“termite” inspections). My licenses are TREC #7195 and TPCL #0598337. Adam’s licenses are TREC #8894 and TPCL #0598337.
Company B _____________________________________________________
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Company C _____________________________________________________
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2. About, on average how many inspections have you completed?
We do thirty to forty inspections per month. That’s over twenty-five hundred inspections in the eight years we have been in business.
Company B _____________________________________________________
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Company C _____________________________________________________
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3. Are you specifically experienced in residential inspection?
Yes, and we are a local, family business, and it’s just Adam (my son) and me. You won’t have to try to get an office to figure out which of the multiple inspectors did your job. It was either Adam or me, and we answer our own phones.
Company B _____________________________________________________
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Company C _____________________________________________________
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4. Do you offer to do repairs or improvements based on the inspection?
We do not, and, if you find a company who offers to do that, let me know. I will report them. They are breaking the law. We cannot work on a house we inspect. It’s a conflict of interest, and we could lose our license if we did.
Company B _____________________________________________________
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Company C _____________________________________________________
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5. What type of inspection report do you provide and how long will it take to receive the report? Do I get a report at the time of inspection?
First, we provide a verbal report on site if you are present. If you are not there, we call immediately after and report over the phone. You’ll know the most important things by the time we leave the inspection. Second, We provide a narrative-type written report, which will email you the report on the same night of the inspection, so that you will have it by start of business the following day. We used to provide on site written reports, but we found it tended to rush us to get through, and we didn’t want to short-change our clients. While we are there, we are inspecting or talking to our clients, not typing away the time. Then, you and your Realtor get the report that night by email. Check out samples of our home inspection reports, elsewhere on the site.
Company B _____________________________________________________
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Company C _____________________________________________________
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6. Do you maintain membership in a professional home inspector association?
Yes, Adam and I are members of the Texas Association of Real Estate Inspectors, one of the oldest trade associations for inspectors in the country. I am past Chairman of the North Texas Chapter, as well as two terms as the Director of Education for the Chapter.
Company B _____________________________________________________
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Company C _____________________________________________________
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7. Do you participate in continuing education programs to keep your expertise up to date?
Absolutely. It’s the only way to keep up with the changing conditions in the industry, ever-new knowledge about homes, home safety and health matters related to home ownership. We try to attend double what our license requires per year of classes, in order to keep our skills sharp.
Company B _____________________________________________________
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Company C _____________________________________________________
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Price and other details
House Exam Inspection quoted me the following: ______________________________
Company B quoted: __________________________
Company C quoted: __________________________
OK, you decide. We would be pleased to work with you, but if you choose another company, we understand.
Good luck on your purchase.
Call to schedule 817-797-2461, OR
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Thanks for considering House Exam Inspection
Adam K. Sedinger, TREC #8894
Victor Sedinger, TREC 7195
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Benbrook, TX Inspection Review
We were very pleased with your polite, sincere, and conscientious determination to do a complete and painstaking job on such a hot day. We will be happy to recommend you to anyone in the future. Thanks again.
Joy H.
Fort Worth Home Inspection
As first time buyers, my fiancé and I were initially very nervous and unsure of the inspection process.
Adam took time to thoroughly explain the process and made simple recommendations as we walked through the house. He was very professional and patient with our questions!
The report was detailed and easy to read. We presented the home owner a copy to make negotiations- he commented how thorough it was and wished he used your services years ago when he first bought the home! We are very pleased and thankful for your services- happy to recommend you to friends and family.
L. MCAULIFFE
Review – Home Inspection Keller, TX
"We would like to commend Adam on the thorough job that he did at our home inspection.
“Adam found a very small leak that many people would have missed. When this leak was tracked down, it was determined to be either in or under the slab. Exactly what we did not want.
“We turned the house down.
“The value of your service was outstanding because it saved us many thousands of dollars, as well as the time and headaches it would have cost to repair the leak.
“We certainly will using House Exam for our future inspection needs."
D&D Property Mgmt.
Ft. Worth Property Inspection Review
Thank you for this unusually thorough inspection report. I’ve had a number of inspections run in Texas and California, but yours is easily the most thorough I’ve ever read. As an out of state purchaser, the inspection is that much more important since I can’t see the property first hand, and you have helped us significantly. If you ever need an out of state reference, I’d be very pleased to describe what a great job you’ve done for us.
Best regards,
Steven B.
Review me on Porch
Instruction & Continuing Ed
House Exam's Victor Sedinger is an Inspector Qualifying Instructor (TREC, IQI #11). Find out more about ride-along home inspection instruction and continuing ed in Texas by clicking here.
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House Exam DFW
House Exam Inspection and Consulting
2318 Carleton Ave.
Fort Worth, TX 76107
Phone: 817-797-2461