I’m looking for an inspector to inspect a home we have made an offer on. Several inspectors have responded and listed their certifications. How can I verify those are genuine and up to date?
In the cyber world, a prospective employer can log into SANS or CompTIA and verify that a candidate actually has earned certifications they list, and that they are up to date (renewed as needed and not expired.)
If you are referring to INTERNACHI certifications then use the “Find An Inspector” function. Once you find the Inspector then select them and look at the page below the contact box and it lists the certifications they have attained.
If you are referring to licenses then obviously check the State WEB site that issues the license.
If you are referring to other certifications then check the WEB site of the issuing organization and hopefully they have a function to do that.
If you are talking about expired licenses, claims of “X years in so and so field or all fields of construction” then you are simply out of luck on that and have to count on the Inspector’s integrity. Unfortunately I see those claims quite frequently and they don’t match with reality!
Where are you located as that might also help answer your question?
If your state has required licensing, they keep tract of continuing education that is required and any complaints files at the state.
Inspectors here can download what they have done here… Just ask.
Thanks all. The two inspectors who responded to inquiry are both listed by NACHI, so I just had to choose between two nearly the same in all respects.
Having done this for over 35 yrs, it can be very difficult. I see flyers, ads, etc all the time where the inspector talks about 15-20 yrs experience and I met him 9 mnths ago when he started doing inspections. The 15-20 yrs experience was often in customer service or as a bartender somewhere. OR maybe they helped a friend build a deck 20 yrs ago. So take that into consideration when shopping.
Or like Emmanuel Scanlan said … If you are referring to licenses then check the State WEB site that issues the license which often gives you insight as to how long they’ve been doing it AND check a few other inspectors to see license numbers … The higher numbers are newer.
OR if If you are looking at other certifications then check the WEB site of the issuing organization and sometimes they also have a function verifying the certification AND how long they’ve had it.
NEXT, look at their web site for things like an ABOUT US tab or similar. If all they have to talk about is how thorough they are, or how affordable they are … Figure they’re likely NEW with nothing to talk about.
Then look at the home inspection certifications or training on their web site. MANY new inspectors have dozens of certifications posted that are ALL from home correspondence OR online classes … NO real life training seminars, etc. Then look to see if they have a BBB rating. In my area I’ve seen quite a few inspectors with dozens of Google 5 star reviews BUT go to the BBB or Yelp, or Angies List, etc and they have bunches of complaints or maybe a “F” rating