Originally Posted By: Dave E
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Two days ago my wife and I signed the papers and baring any major upsets we will (finally) own our first home. Or rather the bank will own it, hehe. The subject of home inspections concern me. The seller has given us 10 days to have our own inspector come in. As an Electrician I have dealt with many terrible inspectors. I understand there are hacks in every business and not all inspectors are crooked or hacks. My concern is that our agent is strongly recommending we use an inspector his company prefers. It should be noted they are a small Real Estate company who deals with a lot of first time home buyers and low income families. They are very confident he does an exemplary job and will do us right. I have seen just too many obvious violations overlooked or ridiculous calls by Home Inspectors in the past and I do not know anything about the industry or its standards, and am uneasy about choosing a company to provide me with the details I need. Should the home have serious hidden faults we are going to have to back out of the buy, that and our FHB program will not help with financing. I’d love to get a clean report but I’d rather loose the house knowing it was in disrepair and would have cost much in the way of cash and disappointment over the years. The seller has made it clear to me that they are going to be difficult and as such I have made it clear I will back out if anything is misrepresented or not up to my standards
So I've found my way here to ask how can I feel confident that my hard earned dollars are going to good use? The company our agent is recommending says they are part of the California Real Estate Inspection Association (CREIA) Can anyone tell me something about CREIA? Are there any important questions I should ask the company to clue me in on the quality and thoroughness of their service? Will this knot in my stomach ever go away?
If any one on the forums is familiar with Sacramento area Home Inspectors I'd love your opinion on the company our agent is recommending. I wont post the name of the company unless asked as it just doesn't feel right to do so here unsolicited.