When looking for a home inspector, there are some important things that you need to know ahead of time. It is perfectly acceptable to ask the following questions as you have every right to know as much about the home inspector as possible in order to make the best decision.

Question number 1: What are your qualifications? This is an important question to ask as you don’t want somebody that isn’t qualified to do your home inspection. It may seem like common sense that if a person is applying to inspect a home for you that he or she will have had the proper training, but unfortunately this isn’t always so.

Question number 2 is: Do you have a license? Not all states require a home inspector to be licensed, so it is a good idea to ask this question. If you live in a state where a license isn’t required, make certain that the individual is qualified in other ways before letting them take on the job.

Question number 3: How many inspections do you do a year? In order to hire the right person, you need someone with plenty of experience. If a person hasn’t performed too many inspections, this shouldn’t immediately disqualify them; after all, even a surgeon has to start out on somebody.

Question number 4 is: May I contact some past clients of yours? This is basically like asking for references. If a person beats around the bush when it comes to the issue, it is usually never a good sign. However, you have every right to speak to past clients of theirs, so make sure they know this if they don’t oblige.

Question number 5: May I have a copy of your errors and omissions insurance? This will be one of the most important questions you ask. If you have somebody that isn’t insured inspecting your home, then you are liable if anything goes wrong as a result. It is true that you can attempt to sue the person, but that’s only if you can find them after the trouble has occurred.

Question 6: Do you provide a guarantee? This is a good question to ask if you want to play it safe. A reliable business will probably provide some sort of guarantee.

Question number 7: What will the inspection cover specifically? Once again, this is good information to know. You need to make sure that their inspection will cover everything that is important.

Question number 8: Will I receive a report after the inspection? Make sure that they are going to give you a detailed report on everything that they find in their inspection.

Question number 9: How long will the inspection take? It is important to ask this upfront, otherwise it may take them months to finish if they are taking their time and trying to rack up your bill.

The final question to ask home inspectors is: How much will it cost? This one is kind of common sense. Make sure you get an estimate so you know ahead of time what to expect.