Home Inspection Qualifications & Credentials

Why You Should Have Your Home Inspected by a Professional

The purchase of a home is an emotional experience and it may not be easy to be objective about it.  Even if you are very familiar with construction, electrical, plumbing and other trades, etc. it is not likely that you will be objective about the condition of the home. You will see the beautiful back yard, or the beamed ceiling in the living room, or be thrilled to have a wood burning fireplace, but you may not notice antiquated and hazardous electrical wiring, water and drain pipes that are at the end of their service life, structural defects or termite infestation, or any of the hundreds of problems we have disclosed in homes that have been inspected by Meyers Home Inspections.

You are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for the home. A home inspection costs a small fraction of the price of the home. I know people that have used automobiles inspected by mechanics before they buy. The mechanics charge about $100.00 for this service. The car may cost $10,000.00. The mechanic's fee is about 1% of the cost of the car for the inspection. The fee Meyers Home Inspections charges for a home inspection is typically $595.00 for a 4 bedroom/ 2.5 bathroom home. If the home costs $595,000, then our fee is only one tenth of one percent  (0.1%) of the price of the home. Your Realtor will charge the homeowner 5% or 6% of the price to sell the home, and that amounts to about $25,000 commission, which increases your cost indirectly. As you can see, our home inspection fee is very inexpensive relative to the other costs involved.

Homes can be dangerous. When a home inspection is done by Meyers Home Inspections our first concern is disclosing potential safety hazards, and then the condition of the structure, electrical, plumbing, roof etc. Did you know that most decks and stairs that we inspect have safety issues? Did you know that most of the older homes we inspect have electrical hazards created by modifications or additions done by unqualified persons? Did you know that many older homes have furnaces that are so old that it is likely that they can be lethal? Did you know that chimneys, especially in older homes, usually have internal defects that can result in fires or carbon monoxide poisoning? We look for all of these potential safety hazards and more when we do an inspection.

You should shop for a home inspector the same way you would choose any other professional that you will be trusting with your welfare. Just as in any profession, prices range from too low to be trusted, to unreasonably high. Generally speaking, you get what you pay for. Experienced highly qualified home inspectors command higher prices than less qualified or less experienced inspectors. Home inspectors that provide narrative reports rather than check list reports charge more because it takes time to properly prepare the report. Home inspectors that have extra credentials, such as Ron Meyers or Dan Meyers at Meyers Home Inspections, have Engineering degrees and special certifications, command a higher price. In today's market in Northern New Jersey, the price for a home inspection ranges from about $375.00 to $1000.00 depending on size and other factors such as age. Our price falls in the upper middle of this range and  is a fair price for the superior value an expertise we provide.

Should I Hire and Engineer or Home Inspector? Simple answer...You should hire an ASHI Certified Home Inspector.  If you are also concerned about possible structural defects in the home you need an engineer.  Why not hire a licensed and certified home inspector who is also an engineer. All home inspections done by Meyers Home Inspections are done or reviewed by by a Lcensed NJ Home Inspector who is also an engineer.  If scheduling does not permit one of our engineers to do the inspection, with your permission, the home inspection will be done by one of our fully qualified and licensed home inspectors, and the report report will be reviewed by an engineer before being sent out.

You need an objective home inspection report done by a professional such as Ron Meyers or Dan Meyers of Meyers Home Inspections. If the home inspection report discloses material defects in the home that you were not aware of when you made the initial purchase offer, then you may be able to negotiate the price of the home downward to allow for repairs or replacements. If the furnace needs to be replaced it could cost about $3500.00, If the roof needs replacement it may cost $6000.00. Compare these costs that you may partly or completely recover in the negotiation process with the cost of the home inspection, and you will realize that a properly conducted home inspection may save you a lot of money.