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Home Inspections are not designed to be ‘perfect’ and there are many limitations to a home inspection including:

• Time – A home inspection is an opinion of the home in a limited time period. In fact, the industry expects that a professional home inspection on a single family home can be completed by a inspector in 3 hours.
• Readily Visible – Inspectors can only see what their eyes can see. Defects hidden behind occupant belongings, behind vegetation, intentionally concealed by sellers, or even the home itself may prevent observation of what later may seem to be an ‘obvious’ defect.
• Cannot Cause Damage – Inspectors cannot cause damage to a home they are inspecting. This limits the type of materials they can walk on, where they can put ladders, and they cannot risk moving occupants things in case they break something.  They can’t put holes in any walls or start using tools to disassemble equipment.
• Inspector Safety – Our members have to put safety first. Slippery roofs, uneven ladder support, wind, animal droppings/urine, and other safety considerations may limit an inspectors observations.
• Not Insurance – A home inspection report is not insurance and inspectors do not offer any type of warranty or guarantee on the home. Insurance is designed to protect the inspector in the event of unforeseen circumstances and would typically require a deductible be paid to access compensation. A home inspection is an opinion of a home, based on a time limited, non-destructive, readily-visible observation of the home systems and basic response to operator controls.

Scope of Inspection – All HIABC member inspectors are required to follow a Scope of Inspection. The purpose of this Scope is to establish a minimum, uniform standard for Home Inspectors Association members. This Scope is embedded in your contract between you and your inspector. If you feel let down by your inspector and want to discuss a complaint, this Scope will come up early and often in the conversation as it is the scope of work (or job description) you agreed to with the inspector.   Scope of Inspection

If you feel let down by your inspector, we recommend the following: