IQ Home Buying Guide

Part III. Purchasing a Home

Tips for Finding a Professional Home Inspector

Having a home inspection is critically important in buying a home, but finding an experienced, qualified professional home inspector is not always easy. Even though Wisconsin requires home inspectors to be registered, in many areas of the country, no training or qualifications are required to call yourself a home inspector. So how do you find an excellent inspector.

Ask for recommendations from your buyer’s agent, real estate attorney, or other real estate professionals as well as from friends, family and co-workers.
Look for membership in a major professional home inspection association and for specific training.
- ASHI The American Society of Home Inspectors, perhaps the largest most respected association, requires its members to pass certain tests and to have performed a certain number of home inspections.
- American Institute of Inspectors is a trade association.
- National Association of Certified Home Inspectors is a trade association.
Check the potential candidates with the Better Business Bureau and appropriate government consumer affairs agencies.
Check if the potential candidates are a member of the Wisconsin Association of Home Inspectors.
Check the Wisconsin Department of Regulation & Licensing License Lookup for credentials and Reports of Decisions for any discipline or other orders affecting the credential holder.
Interview several potential home inspectors. Ask about their background, training, years and type of experience doing home inspections, certification and licensing, and continuing training. Ask for references, then call those references. Be sure that the inspector provides a written report and welcomes your accompanying them on the inspection and the follow-up walk through.
Sign a written contract that spells out what you can expect of the inspector and the inspection.

IQ links to sites provided by a variety of sources. We review sites for credibility and reliability, but IQ, of course, can't control advertising and other links on these sites. We advise ignoring pop-up ads, links to sales of products or services, and the like.