Originally home inspections were performed by electrical, plumbing, general contractors or handy man types. None of the individual professionals had the knowledge required to perform a complete  inspection on all systems of a home or building. An electrician would know all that was needed to properly inspect the electrical system but would have no ability or workable knowledge to inspect other systems such as plumbing, roofing or HVAC systems.  As such you would either need to hire many different people to perform an inspection or settle for a poorly performed one. Still to this day many states do not require licensing or certifications.  Where licensing or certification is not a requirement, such as in Washington State, anyone can claim to be a home inspector, and there are no laws to prevent him or her from doing so. The only practical standards for home inspectors are those enacted by professional inspection associations such as the

American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI),

the nation's largest and leading non-profit professional association for independent home inspectors. Membership in this type of association requires initial testing, adherence to professional standards of practice and code of ethics, and ongoing educational programs. With some other organizations you only need to pay a small fee to receive a membership certificate, and other organizations allow there members to bid on and/or refer work to repair defects they have found. Is this a conflict of interest, we with ASHI think so. When you search for a home inspector, be certain that the individual actually performing the inspection holds membership in a reputable organization. This is the only way to insure the level of ethics, knowledge and experience that is needed for such an important investment.

Jeff Wise, is a certified home inspector that has met all testing and continuing education as required by the

 "American Society of Home Inspectors" (ASHI).

Contact Jeff