What difference does the home inspection company you choose make to the closing of a home that you are buying or selling? Maybe nothing, but maybe a lot. You won't know until after the home inspection company has left and you find out if there inspection was accurate. If it wasn't, and there is a problem with your home, it could suddenly stop the closing of a sale or, perhaps worse, cost you a lot of money and your family a lot of grief and inconvenience. That's the difference a home inspection company can make.

Let's say the worst happened, you bought a home, had a building inspection company look at it, you moved in and then found a serious and costly problem with the home. All you need to do is call the home inspection company, right? You can call, but they will not likely do anything, and they certainly won't return the home inspection fee or compensate you in any way.

They are right to do so. If a home inspection company began returning fees or compensating customers every time a problem arose after a home inspection failed to find it, they would be quickly out of business. It is impossible for home inspection companies to check and uncover every possible problem there could be with a home. For one thing, home inspectors cannot see into wood and cement to spot rot or internal flaws that could become apparent later on and cause problems.

The reality for homebuyers and sellers is that a home inspection offers no guarantees that all the potential problems with a home will be discovered. However, a good home inspection company offers the best protection against expensive and unexpected problems that could ruin a deal.

Finding the best home inspection company might be more difficult than it sounds, unless you know what to look for. The home inspection industry is unregulated by any government standards or minimum qualifications. Anyone, regardless of education, qualifications or experience, can claim to be a home inspector and open a home inspection company. It is possible that the home inspector you choose might never have inspected a home before, or know anything about spotting problems with your home. While the chances are very slim that your home inspector is that unqualified, there can be a big difference in the qualifications of home inspection companies.

Fortunately, the home inspection industry saw the need to set minimum standards and qualifications for building inspectors so that the public can have confidence in the inspectors they hire. Home inspection industry associations, which can be regional, provincial or national, will allow anyone to be a member, however, members must meet minimum standards before they can advertise their membership in the association. If a home inspection company claims membership in an industry association, it should mean they have met the home inspection standards of that association.

Unfortunately, this does not stop some home inspection companies from telling you they belong to an association, which may be true, even though they have not met the association's standards. If a home inspection company claims membership in an association, contact the association and they will be happy to let you know the member's standing in the association. The main national home inspection association is the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors, or NACHI.

Of course, you can also use the traditional methods of researching suppliers when trying to find a good home inspection company. Talk to family or friends who have had property inspections done. They will also be able to let you know what to expect and how to best prepare for your home inspection. Real estate agents and lawyers should also have reliable contacts for home inspections. Between home inspection association standards and the feedback from your contacts, you should have no problem choosing from a long list of excellent home inspection companies.

Even though there are no guaranties that a qualified building inspector will find all possible problems with your home, a home inspection is still the best protection for homebuyers and sellers against unexpected problems that could ruin a sale and end up costing a lot of time, money and aggravation.

Allmax Home Inspections have the experience, qualifications and industry association accreditation to be your trusted home inspection company.