Your Pre-Inspection Agreement: Your First Line of Defense

Table of Content

• Why should an Attorney Help Write your Pre-Inspection Agreement For Home Inspectors?
• PRE-INSPECTION AGREEMENT
• Whats Included With Every Inspection?
• The Purpose of Operating Agreements for Home Inspection
• Signs of Pests in Crown Point
• InterNACHI® Home Inspection Agreements
• Operating Agreements for Home Inspectors

Some regulated states require inspectors to obtain signed contracts. Check the laws affecting your state and region to confirm. Note that many home inspection insurance policies do not provide coverage for free inspection services.

However, most policies do not dictate how much a home inspector needs to charge so long as the client pays something. The client agrees that any claim arising in connection with this agreement shall be made in writing to the Company at the address above by certified mail, return receipt requested within 10 days after discovering any problem. Stephanie Jaynes is the Marketing Director for InspectorPro Insurance, ASHI’s one and only Premier Insurance Partner. Through risk management articles in the Reporter and on the InspectorPro website, InspectorPro helps inspectors protect their livelihood and avoid unnecessary risk. Get peace of mind and better protection with InspectorPro’s pre-claims assistance and straightforward coverage.

Why should an Attorney Help Write your Pre-Inspection Agreement For Home Inspectors?

In 2009, we saw a need in the home inspection insurance industry. Across the nation, there were tens of thousands of home inspectors protecting the millions buying and selling homes every year. MARGINAL (Marg.) – Indicates the component will probably require repair or replacement anytime within five years.

The pre-inspection agreement is the home inspector’s first line of defense if issues arise. Unless otherwise noted in this Agreement or not possible, we will perform the inspection in accordance with the current Standards of Practice of the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (“InterNACHI”), posted at /sop. If your jurisdiction has adopted mandatory standards that differ from InterNACHI’s SOP, we will perform the inspection in accordance with your jurisdiction’s standards. You understand that InterNACHI’s SOP contains limitations, exceptions, and exclusions. You understand that InterNACHI is not a party to this Agreement, has no control over us, and does not employ or supervise us.

PRE-INSPECTION AGREEMENT

This mold inspection is not a home inspection and does not identify physical defects in any component or system. Unless otherwise noted in this Agreement or not possible, we will perform the inspection in accordance with the current NYS Standards of Practice . You understand that NYS SOP contains limitations, exceptions, and exclusions. Home inspectors are not permitted to provide engineering or architectural services. If immediate threats to health or safety are observed during the course of the inspection, the client hereby consents to allow the home inspector to disclose such immediate threats to health or safety to the property owner and/or occupants of the property.

From the first meeting, Larry is friendly and a person with whom it is easy to work. He is consistently early to the inspection to get a sense of the home before meeting with the client. Larry is extremely thorough and explains everything in detail as you move through your home inspection.

Whats Included With Every Inspection?

Make your pre-inspection agreement a priority by getting it signed before every inspection. Providing the address of the inspection property is your first step in identifying the inspection premises. By elaborating on which systems and components your inspection includes and excludes, you will set client expectations and limit your liability. The client agrees to allow the inspection company to re-inspect before changing the condition of the problem, except in an emergency. Failure to allow the inspection company the opportunity to re-inspect, as required above, shall constitute a waiver of any and all claims client may have against the Company. In addition to always using a written contract, home inspectors who have not incorporated should form a limited liability company or subchapter S corporation because forming a separate entity offers some additional liability protection.

He writes excellent reports that are thorough and accessible. We will definitely use him again in the future and highly recommend him. CLIENT and COMPANY agree that should a court of a competent jurisdiction determine and declare that any portion of this agreement is void, voidable or unenforceable, the remaining provisions and portions shall remain in full force and effect.

Do Errors and Omissions Insurance Negate the Need for an Inspection Agreement? Vice versa?

The inspection and report are performed and prepared for the sole, confidential and exclusive use and possession of the CUSTOMER. Inspector will prepare and provide Client a written report for the sole use and benefit of Client. The written report shall document any material defects discovered in the building’s systems and components which, in the opinion of the Inspector, are safety hazards, are not functioning properly, or appear to be at the ends of their service lives.

While this may seem like a simple question, it is extremely complex. Primarily, because it’s not easy to know what problems can arise and, thus, it’s impossible to accurately know how to protect yourself. Luckily, many example contracts exist online from which you can draw inspiration. Another resource is to inspect your state’s code for information regarding such protections as state limits of liability.

Inspectors may also be able to reduce their self-employment taxes by doing business as an LLC or corporation. The report is only supplementary to the seller's disclosure. Client agrees that a failure to comply with the terms of this paragraph shall constitute a waiver of such claim. Inspect any building, system, component, appliance, or improvement not included or otherwise excluded by these Standards of Practice. Any such inspection shall comply with all other provisions of these Standards.

Your pre-inspection agreement is your first line of defense. It is your contract between you and your client (the person for whom you are performing a property inspection). The agreement’s purpose is to protect both you and your client by setting correct inspection expectations, including services you’ll perform and the payment they’ll make. While not required by the statute of frauds nor by all 50 states, Gergen explained, signed contracts can be advantageous to inspectors because they provide some protection of inspection terms, like the standards of practice and the scope of the inspection. Many thanks to attorney Joe Denneler and the rest of the team at InterNACHI® Insurance for their work on this project. Joe’s legal career focused solely on legal issues affecting property inspectors.

His report was detailed with clear photos, comments and links to sites for further information if there was any issue during an inspection. Larry did the inspection for our new home in Commack and it was a great experience. He was very quick and professional in his response, arrived early for the inspection and already had tons of notes on the outside of the house by the time we arrived, and walked us through the entire house for two hours answering all of our many questions.