Certified Home Inspectors In Santa Clarita– Why They May Not be Your Best Choice
What most home buyers are unaware of when searching for a home inspector here in Santa Clarita is that the majority of them are only “Certified“. So what’s the big deal & why is that a problem? Well, the big deal is that the term suggests the inspector is Uber qualified as an inspector. In reality, the term “Certified Home Inspectors In Santa Clarita” means absolutely nothing. In other words, it means that the person was capable of taking a quick-n-easy on line test. Or, sit through a week long class. For the most part, you need zero real word experience to work as a home inspector in Santa Clarita or California for that matter.
In contrast, however, a general contractor must possess real life proof that he/she has real world working experience and even have another contractor sign and verify this.
So let’s go back to the “certification process… What does it take to get certified? A Pulse.
What Does the Law Say About Certified Home Inspectors in Santa Clarita?
BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE CHAPTER 9.3. Home Inspectors [7195 – 7199]
“It is the duty of a home inspector who is not licensed as a general contractor, structural pest control operator, or architect, or registered as a professional engineer to conduct a home inspection with the degree of care that a reasonably prudent home inspector would exercise.”
Not only does the BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE CHAPTER 9.3. Home Inspectors [7195 – 7199] law clearly state that an inspector does not have to be a contractor or engineer, it also says a home inspector doesn’t even have to be, well anything or possess any experience. Thus, the only solution to legitimize ones with ZERO experience is to “certify”. Moreover, the law sets no minimum standards for any qualifications. Qualifications such as certification or licensing to perform such an important job. That is… protecting the home buyer.
How easy is it to become Certified home inspectors in Santa Clarita?
It’s important to realize that home inspection certifications for Santa Clarita home inspectors can come from just about anywhere, really. There are internet based courses just as there are classroom style courses.
The internet based courses will take a student through a series of subjects and after which, is expected to pass these easy questions. These classes can take an individual 10 to 40 hours or more to complete.
Classroom courses are taught by one instructor. Classes may employ the services or different specialists to speak on specific topics such as HVAC, or electrical issues. These classes are generally about a week long, or 5 days with one final exam.
With this in mind, one can deduce either training methods are designed to literally cram all this information into ones brain for one purpose, that is to pass everyone in a very short period of time with no means for retention.
In contrast, a general contractor or Engineer must pass a series of very difficult “proctored” tests, that is of course, after they have had genuine experience likely for years.
What’s Santa Clarita Building Code Have to Do With It?
Everything. Never let any Santa Clarita home inspector tell you that the inspection isn’t a “code inspection”. That my friends is total BS. Of course it’s a code inspection…duh. Let me put it to you this way. If a roof is installed incorrectly, and the inspector was not taught these standards in the certification classes, how then are these guys to know whether the issue is right or wrong?
Most certified inspectors will tell you code inspecting is beyond their scope, whatever that means. Other certified inspectors will tell you fly out, they won’t. I’m here to tell you not to ever accept this as the standard by which you should choose your inspector. Truth be told, the certifications courses barley touch on codes. This is because there are literally tens of thousands of codes. there are simply too many for them to teach and too many for a newbie to absorb.
Home Inspectors Cannot Comment On Costs To Repair Issues
Rather than help the home buyer determine costs to repair certain specific issues, they will by-and-large, choose not to. Why? mostly, I believe it’s because the traditional “certified” Santa Clarita Home inspector had no real genuine building experience or, their experience is limited so they basically have no idea what things cost to fix. Also, most believe it’s “beyond the scope” whatever that means.
How does any of this help the home buyer?
It doen’t.
Most all home buyers need some sort of guidance on how much issues will cost them. Unfortunately for the buyer, when the inspector is unable to provide approximate pricing you must then spend even more money on “specialists”.
Of course there is another component which might hinder the inspectors ability to providing pricing. Experience. Not to mention the inspector may not wish to upset his realtor “referrer”. Actually, its more like collusion. The certified Santa Clarita Home Inspectors are less likely to providing pricing for this singular reason then another other or even all reasons combined. For them, the prospect of being removed from the coveted realtor list of 3, is simply too much for these inspectors to bear.
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