Availability and price are only part of choosing a home inspector. Learn which questions to ask about licensing, insurance, qualifications, and accountability before hiring someone or making a referral.
The cheapest home inspection can become the most expensive referral an agent makes.
When buyers choose a home inspector, the conversation often begins with two questions:
“Are they available?”
“How much do they charge?”
Those questions matter, but they should not be the only questions.
A home inspector is evaluating what may be the largest purchase your client will ever make. Before hiring or recommending someone, buyers and agents should know whether that inspector is properly insured, appropriately licensed, qualified to perform specialized services, and prepared to stand behind the work.
If a significant problem surfaces after closing, the homeowner will understandably call the inspector. They may also have questions for the agent who recommended them.
That does not make the agent responsible for the inspector’s work. But referrals carry trust, and clients tend to remember who made the introduction.
A good inspector protects everyone involved by providing an independent, accurate assessment of the property. A thorough residential home inspection may identify issues that require additional discussion, but that information allows the buyer and agent to address concerns before closing rather than discover them later.
Under the Illinois Home Inspector License Act, licensed home inspectors must maintain at least $100,000 in general liability insurance.
That is the legal minimum, but it is not the entire insurance conversation.
General liability and errors and omissions insurance cover different types of risk. General liability generally addresses bodily injury or property damage claims. Errors and omissions coverage, also called professional liability insurance, is designed for claims involving an inspector’s professional services, such as an allegation that a visible defect should have been reported.
InterNACHI, a major professional association for home inspectors, explains why inspectors commonly need both general liability and errors and omissions coverage.
Buyers and agents should ask what coverage an inspector carries rather than assume every company is equally protected.
Insurance does not mean every complaint becomes a claim or automatically results in a refund. No inspector can guarantee that every problem will be found. Some defects are hidden, some areas are inaccessible, and systems can fail after operating normally during the inspection.
The more practical question is what happens when a client has a legitimate concern.
Will the inspector answer the phone? Review the report? Explain what was visible and accessible during the inspection? Return to the property when appropriate and help work through a reasonable resolution?
That level of accountability matters long after the inspection appointment ends.
Illinois home inspectors must maintain an active license. Buyers and agents can confirm an individual or company’s status through the state’s official professional license lookup.
It is worth checking. Licenses can lapse, and a home inspector license does not automatically qualify someone to perform every specialized service they advertise.
Illinois separately licenses professionals who perform radon measurements. The state provides a searchable list of licensed radon professionals.
The testing equipment matters too.
Illinois rules require continuous radon monitors to be calibrated before entering service, after repairs that could affect calibration, and at least once every 12 months after that. The rules also include additional quality-control checks intended to confirm that the equipment continues to operate properly.
A detailed report is only as reliable as the person conducting the test and the monitor collecting the data. Dunsing’s radon testing services are performed using continuous monitoring equipment by Illinois-licensed radon professionals.
Using a drone during a paid roof or property inspection is not recreational flying. Most non-recreational drone operations are regulated under the FAA’s Part 107 rules.
The person operating the drone should hold an FAA Remote Pilot Certificate or be directly supervised as permitted under the rules.
A professional drone inspection can provide useful views of roofs, chimneys, upper stories, and other areas that may be steep, fragile, wet, snow-covered, or unsafe to access on foot. But owning a drone is not the same as being properly trained and authorized to use it professionally.
Inspection companies now have access to thermal cameras, moisture meters, sewer cameras, chimney cameras, drones, and continuous radon monitors.
These tools can provide information that may be difficult to obtain during a basic visual inspection. A sewer survey may identify roots, cracks, blockages, or damaged piping. Thermal imaging can help identify temperature differences that may be associated with moisture, missing insulation, or electrical concerns.
But equipment alone does not make an inspection more accurate.
The value comes from having trained professionals who understand how to operate the equipment, maintain it, interpret the findings, and recognize the technology’s limitations.
There are excellent independent inspectors, just as there are excellent inspectors working for larger companies. Company size alone does not determine quality.
What matters is whether the inspector is properly insured, currently licensed, qualified for the services being performed, and prepared to address questions after the inspection is complete.
A home inspection costs very little compared with the price of a home. Saving a few hundred dollars by choosing an inspector primarily on price or immediate availability may not feel like much of a bargain if a significant issue is discovered later.
Know who is inspecting the home.
Know who is operating the equipment.
And know who will still answer the phone after closing.
Dunsing Inspections has served Chicagoland buyers, homeowners, real estate professionals, and commercial property owners since 1980.
Explore our full range of inspection services or request a quote and schedule an inspection.