Why does nobody talk about how expensive home inspections can be

I just paid $550 for a home inspection on a 3-bedroom house in Columbus and the guy spent maybe 2 hours here. He didn't even check the attic because he said it was too hot up there. Has anyone else dealt with inspectors who rush through things like this?

3 comments

3 Comments

mason_murray813d ago

Did the guy at least offer to mail you a postcard from the attic saying he was just too hot to do his job? I swear some of these inspectors treat a home like they're speedrunning a video game, just checking off rooms without actually looking at anything. $550 for two hours is basically paying someone to ignore your attic, which is wild. Next time maybe just hire a guy with a ladder and a flashlight from Facebook Marketplace, he'd probably charge half that and actually climb up there. Hopefully the furnace and roof are fine because this inspector definitely didn't find any problems he had to actually investigate.

xenam8413d agoTop Commenter

Not trying to be that person but $550 for two hours is actually a pretty normal rate for a good home inspector where I live. The problem isn't the price, it's that this guy clearly didn't do his job. I paid about the same for my last inspection and my guy spent almost four hours, crawled through every corner of the attic, and showed me exactly where the previous owners had done some sketchy wiring. You can definitely get a cheaper person off marketplace but you kinda get what you pay for with those guys. A licensed inspector should have a contract that says what they'll check and if the attic is listed but they skip it, you can push back on them for a partial refund.

ruby_bell4713d ago

That $550 for two hours and no attic check is exactly why I changed my mind about home inspections. I used to think you just needed any licensed inspector, but @mason_murray8 is right about some of them speedrunning the job. My last inspector barely looked at the crawlspace and missed a leaky pipe that cost me $800 to fix later. Now I always ask them upfront how long they expect to be there and what they won't check, so I don't get burned again.