Is your Home Inspector qualified to do the job?

Congratulations! You’re in the process of buying a new home if you’ve landed yourself here, probably trying to find a home inspector and wondering what qualifications to look for. For a first time home buyer this is probably a very confusing process for you, heck, even second-time homebuyers go through stress. Read on for why it’s important to know if your home inspector is qualified and experienced to not only identify mold on an inspection but also be able to identify risk potential for mold.

Over the years there have been increasing amounts of cases where a mold inspector is called in to assess a mold issue in a home that has just been purchased and has already passed an inspection. So, why and how did the home inspector miss the potential issue?

In New York State, home inspectors can get a certification to inspect for mold after taking a class with a specific number of hours but have no actual field experience required to complete the certification. This means, that the company you’re trusting to inspect your home for mold before purchase, may not have any actual field experience in assessing for mold or the potential for it. Although they may be qualified, they can be inexperienced and it could cost you down the line.

As a mold inspector with over 13 years of documented field experience specializing in mold evaluations, I have been called in to perform mold inspections after large environmental companies had already passed homes and found costly mold remediation needs. Furthermore, when a home inspector finds mold or a potential problem say in the attic and make note of it in their report, they are unqualified to identify whether it is mold or not, unqualified to test it, and to determine the cause and to develop a remediation plan. When I go in to do an inspection, I am limited by the seller’s lawyers to look at only the Attic due to the fact that is the only place the home inspector found any potential mold. Yet, I can potentially end up finding multiple other issues outside of the home inspector which they were not experienced enough to look for.

The point is, although a home inspector may be certified to inspect for mold, look for someone with experience in identifying not only existing mold but the potential for mold as well. HNST Mold Inspections has been performing mold inspection in New York and New Jersey for many years and is qualified as well as experienced to help identify mold or the potential for mold in the home you’re interested in purchasing. Call HNST Mold Inspections today to get your home Inspected the right way.