1) Make sure you hire someone who is experienced and licensed. Someone accredited by the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) is a good place to start. Currently, not all states require an inspector to be licensed, so make sure that you’re hiring someone who is. Don’t hire a “bargain” inspector.
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2) Don’t hire an inspector through your agent. You’ll want to find someone who is completely objective. A person your agent works with could be swayed to make the deal move faster.
3) Ask to see a sample report from your inspector. It’ll give you a deeper look into just how thorough they are. Did they take photos? Did they check all the breakers and the crawl space?
4) Go with your inspector on the day of the inspection. Even though you receive a report when they’re done, it’s worth it to be there so they can explain what specific issues mean, the severity of them, and what you can do to remedy them. Be courteous and don’t distract them while they’re working.
5) It’s worth renegotiating the price rather than asking the seller to make repairs on issues that come up during the inspection. While that’s ultimately more work for you to coordinate, you can be sure that you won’t take any shortcuts to get the job done. If you are requesting that the seller make repairs, be as specific as possible on what needs to be fixed and specify that fixes must be done by a licensed contractor.
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