With that said, let’s look at some must items to consider before retaining a Georgia Home Inspector to inspect your Georgia home.

1. Professional Affiliation: In Georgia the only home inspector standards are those enacted by professional associations such as the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI). Membership requires adherence to strict standards of practice and participation in continuing education. Beware of those who claim adherence to these standards BUT who are not actually a member (check membership at www.ashi.org ). 

2. Inspection Experience: Home inspectors are often perceived as general contractors who happen to inspect homes or even an real estate appraiser. Hiring an experienced Georgia Home Inspector is vital. Asking questions such as how long they’ve been inspecting homes or how many home inspections they average per year is a must. An full time inspector should should average 200-400 inspections per year.

3.Knowledge of Building Codes: While the primary focus of a home inspection is not code compliance, many property defects often have their basis in code-related standards.  This is where a General Contractor background can be extremely beneficial to a home inspector. Also home inspectors who are also IRC residential code certified are a plus.

4. Sample Inspection Report: Make sure you ask or see a sample report. The best format should be not only detailed and comprehensive, but easily interpreted.  Some reports are so encumbered with maintenance recommendations and liability disclaimers, that pertinent information about the property is obscured.  A quality report lets defect disclosure stand out distinctly, in contrast with less pertinent data. 

5. Avoid Price Shopping a home inspection: Georgia Home Inspection fees vary widely. The price of a quality inspection is typically between $300 and $600 for an average size home. Lower fees should be regarded with suspicion, as they often identify those who are new to the business or who spend insufficient time performing the inspection. This can not be emphasized enough! A home is the most expensive purchase you are going to make in a lifetime. One defect missed by your inspector could cost 100 times what you save with a bargain home inspection. The best method of price shopping is to shop for quality.  There is often truth in the statement “You get what you pay for.” 

In review if you ask for these few credentials you’ll be on the right track to hiring a qualified Georgia home inspector. Also be sure to ask the home inspector if they carry general liability insurance (protects against accidents) and errors & omissions insurance (protects the consumer again gross negligence). 

We are full members of ASHI, are full time  Atlanta Home Inspectors, with 1000′s of home inspections under our belt, and have general liability and error & omissions insurance. Call us to schedule your Georgia home inspection right now!

Radon in the metro Atlanta area is a very real danger causing potentially very serious health issues, worst death. Radon causes more deaths than drownings, drunk driving, falls in the home, and home fires!

the Surgeon General has warned that radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States today, only cigarette smoking causes more lung cancer deaths.

The EPA basically has 3 zones of potential Radon levels. Let’s look at the map for Georgia http://www.epa.gov/radon/zonemap/georgia.htm You can clearly see that North Georgia has moderate to severe levels of know Radon exposure. Cobb county, Fulton County, Gwinnett County, and Dekalb County have the highest know levels according to the map. Even if you live or are purchasing a home in an area that has lower known Radon levels according to the EPA, We and the EPA still recommend having Radon testing by a qualified professional completed. As a matter of fact we’ve have some of the highest levels of Radon detected here in Atlanta in  zone 3 areas.

Lastly, make sure if you decide to test for Radon here in the metro Atlanta that you hire a qualified Radon tester. The EPA does not officially regulate testing, some state do. Georgia does not. Make sure the Radon tester you hire is a member of  www.neha-nrpp.org or www.nrsb.org

We use state of the art Radon testing equipment. To schedule a Radon Test visit www.choosesuperiorinspection.com or call 678.410.3005.

Usually homes that are foreclosed are bought ”as is” and the buyer is under a time constraint to complete the transaction. Typically foreclosed homes in Atlanta have been winterized, or the utilities have been turned off to the home, many times for several months. We advise that you have the utilities turned onto the foreclosed home prior to the home inspection. We recommend coordinating this with your agent or the listing agent, sometimes the bank or foreclosure company requires you to put the utilities temporarily in your name and a small fee may be charged. It is well worth the time and money spent getting the utilities on.

Lastly, make sure your Atlanta home inspector is a Full member of ASHI (www.ashi.org)  this is the highest level of membership in ASHI, or INACHI. Also make sure the Atlanta home inspector has errors & omissions AND general liability insurance. Hire an Atlanta GA home inspector who has a professional website such as www.choosesuperiorinspection.com and ask to see all their credentials, even if the home inspector verbally states they have the aforementioned information.

Other cities are, Alpharetta, Athens, Atlanta, Canton, Cumming, Mairetta, Lawrenceville, Roswell, Norcross, Buckhead, Duluth, Sandy Springs, Decatur, Woodstock, Fulton County, Forsyth County, Gwinnett County, Cobb County, Hall County, Dawson County, and all of North Georgia.

We offer home inspections, commercial inspections, mold testing, mold inspections, radon testing, new construction inspections, seller inspections, townhome inspections, condo inspections, building inspections, investor inspections, and much more.

Please visit www.choosesuperiorinspection.com for more information.

Lake Houses

Lake Lanier Houses

Gainesville Real Estate

Atlanta Georgia Home Inspectors

Atlanta GA Home Inspectors

Real Estate Appraisers

Engineering Firms

Contractor Service

Physician Doctors

Free Insurance Quote

Atlanta GA home inspector

Atlanta Foreclosures

Home Inspectors