Hello, welcome to my home inspection blog.
I love doing home inspections. It is something that I truly enjoy doing; every inspection is a fun experience for me. Most home inspectors will tell you they have decades of experience in construction, general contract work, roofing, building, carpentry, etc. My background is different, and I think that gives me an advantage when it comes to remaining unbiased while following the SOP for the state of Oklahoma and InterNACHI's SOP. More about SOPs in a future blog.
In February 2018, my wife and I bought a beautiful, old home in Ardmore's historical southwest neighborhood. We hired a home inspector to point out all of the 'charming' flaws that we knew the house would have. It's inevitable that a nearly-hundred year-old house will have some things that need to be fixed.
The inspection report was not easy to read, it was emailed as four separate PDFs, it was an outdated format, and it mostly covered minor things like a little piece of caulking behind the stove that needed to be touched up. What the report did not cover, however, was a big hole in the roof and a bigger hole in the floor beside the upstairs shower. We found both of those defects on our own.
We were so disappointed and upset. We paid a significant amount of money for a thorough inspection, and the inspector didn't even get on the roof. We hated the idea of other people in our beloved hometown making the biggest investment of their lives without enough information. So we looked at what it takes to become a home inspector in Oklahoma. There are several companies that offer education for home inspections. I signed up for a class and over the next several months I was learning everything I could about building science and all of the components of a house.
In March 2019, I took the four-hour proctored state exam and officially became a licensed home inspector. This is not my 'day job', it's a fun thing I do to help people out. While inspections may be a primary source of income for other inspectors, I'm more interested in helping people make an informed decision. I'll get on the roof and look for holes. I enjoy getting in crawl spaces. I will do whatever I can to find defects. With every inspection that I do, I keep in mind what I would want to learn if I was the homebuyer. That's why I encourage my clients to meet me at the home during the last half of the inspection, so I can explain what I've observed in terms that might be easier to understand than the report.
Just this weekend I received an email from a satisfied client who did not purchase the house that I inspected for them. My inspection revealed some pretty significant defects that they did not expect, so they walked away from the deal. I'm happy that I was able to show them the defects before they made a lifelong commitment to the house.
Whether you are shopping for a home, selling your home, or want to check on your current home, a home inspection is a helpful tool. I encourage you to shop around and find an inspector that you would be happy to work with. If I can be of any help, please call, text, email, message on Facebook, or holler at me. My cell is (580) 504-0464 and our email is shepardhomeinspectionsok@gmail.com.
Comentarios