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The advice I would give to anyone looking to hire a home inspector is; do not price shop for the lowest inspection price. In this industry, you get what you pay for. A home inspector, who is not getting paid enough, may cut corners, provide poor work, and can ultimately cost you thousands of dollars in the long run. Look at these simple formulas:
Poorly paid inspector = Poor work and less efforts spent helping you deliver a successful inspection report.
Poor report = Higher insurance premium, more headache for you, and less $ in your pocket.
Prior a home inspection, the client should always be informed about what information is needed to help receive a successful insurance report. Wind mitigation inspections are not a simple task and lots of research is required to provide a truthful report. Most of the time, product approval numbers on shutters, windows and/or doors are not visible or simply not present. In order to prove insurance companies that the house openings are in fact impact and/or wind rated, the inspector has to spend time looking into paperwork and/or online database. Now, not all inspectors spend that extra time. They just rather write down on the report “N: Exterior opening protection unverified with no documentation”. At this point, the insurance company will, more likely, not give the client wind mitigation credit for the opening protection section. This could result in hundreds of dollars of savings down the drain... Unfortunately, time is money and when pay is low, so is the work input.
It is understandable to want to hire the right inspection company at a fair price. However, choosing the cheapest company may not be the solution for saving money in the long run. Think about it. Once it has been sent to your homeowners insurance carrier, the wind mitigation report is valid for 5 years. The information found on that form is crucial to obtain a good insurance rate. Please don’t make the mistake of leaving it within the hands of the “cheapest” inspector in town. Your wind mitigation report is affecting your yearly insurance rate for the next 5 years! It’s a big deal, and unfortunately, uninformed homeowners overlook the importance of this inspection.
Florida Wisdom Home Inspections provides exceptional service at a fair price. Contact us today for a free quote!
561-509-4190