If you read nothing else, I strongly recommend that you read and understand this. When choosing a home inspector, I think it is important to keep in mind that what you really are paying for in a home inspection is personal service. In fact, it's a personal service that will affect your purchase of a very ignificant asset. How well that service is performed necessarily depends on the unique makeup of the person performing it: his background, knowledge, ethics, ability to reason and communicate, and thoroughness, among other factors. (I say his only because home inspectors in Arkansas are at least 95% male.) When you consider that there has been a tremendous increase in the number of  home inspectors in the Central Arkansas area in the last few years it seems only logical that some will be more able to perform a proper home inspection than others.

Combined with eleven years of experience as a home inspector, I firmly believe that my experience in construction is a significant asset in the performance of home inspections. Over twenty-five years as a homebuilder allows me a far more intimate combined knowledge of construction techniques, code issues, product recalls, and essential engineering principles than could be learned in a classroom setting of a few weeks' duration. I've seen materials and techniques change--and only a few for the better.

What about pricing? Pricing is an obvious issue. Too much of one, in too many cases, in my opinion. It is a constant source of amazement for me when I get a call from a potential client and they only have one question: "How much do you charge?" After asking them the necessary questions and giving them a cost, all too many of them are ready to say thanks and hang up!  Far too many never ask about qualifications or experience. With all that is at stake, isn't that far more important than a few dollars' difference in cost? Speaking bluntly, that's just not smart! That does not at all mean that I can charge exorbitant fees for my work. After all, it's still a competitive business and I can't afford to price myself out of work. In most cases, on a typical home inspection quote most experienced inspectors will be within $20 or so of each other.

Let's face it: you will be paying for a lot of purchase-related services. When buying a home, I can understand the desire to minimize costs. What I can't understand is the willingness to possibly compromise the entire purchase to save a relatively tiny amount of money. Ask yourself one simple question: Am I willing to save enough to buy, let's say, a couple of takeout pizzas in exchange for assuming the risk that my bargain inspector (who quite likely is new) will overlook something, or not fully understand what he is looking at? Keep in mind the following information: A survey released in 2006 by the Arkansas Association Of Real Estate Inspectors showed that 20% of inspectors statewide listed their experience level as "one year or less." An ADDITIONAL 37% listed their experience level as being between 1 year and 4 years. That means that fully 57% have been working less than 4 years! With the fees charged by professional tradesmen now, (almost $100 just to drive to your door, plus the cost of parts) repairing just one missed item can cost you well over the cost of the entire inspection! I love a bargain as much as anyone, and when buying a commodity you can shop by price. But there are times when I firmly believe it makes sense to pay for quality, and rest assured that what you are paying for truly meets your needs and expectations. If you are like most Americans, your home is much more than just a shelter. You shouldn't settle for a "commodity grade" home inspection.

Remember: As an additional service to clients, I offer free telephone consultations after the inspection. If you ever have a home-related question, you can call me. FREE. There's no fine print governing that. Once a client--always a client!

If you've waded thru all the above and need more convincing, I probably can't do it with anything else I might write. So I suggest you consider what previous clients have said:

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