When you are preparing to purchase a home, you know you are making one of the biggest decisions in your life. You want to make sure that you know what you are getting yourself into and that you do not saddle yourself with a home that needs a lot of repairs that you might not have noticed on your own. This is the reason that so many people hire a home inspector in order to take an objective look at the home they are about to buy. What many people do not realize, however, is that a professional engineer is a professional who can do the job even better than an ordinary home inspector.
When you hire a home inspector or a professional engineer, you can expect to receive a thorough inspection of the home you want to buy. However, when you hire a professional engineer, the person doing the inspection job is licensed. That means they have the technically background and experience that you want when it comes to inspecting a home in a reliable manner.
You will also receive a written report from either professional. The professional engineer, however, will give you a promptly prepared report that is easy to read, comprehensive, and includes all of the structural issues. The engineer will also help you understand the major systems of the home while on site doing the initial inspection.
Once your home inspector leaves you with your report, you are likely done seeing and talking with that individual. When you hire a professional engineer, though, you can expect to receive follow up help when you have a problem. You would simply have to call the professional engineer in order to ask questions or voice any concerns you might have and you will not even be charged extra fees.
Home inspector professionals generally have to have about 40 hours of classroom work under their belts as well as 100 hours of on-the-job training. A professional engineer, on the other hand, does 4 years of undergraduate work in engineering that includes structural, mechanical, electrical, and even civil training. They then train for 4 years in the field and then appeal to the state in order to take the professional engineering exam. The 16-hour exam is administered and after the engineers pass the test, they have to go on to have continuing education in the area in which they practice.
Overall, professional engineers simply know more about homes and that allows them to spot more problems with more ease than an average home inspector. If you want a thorough job done on the home you are about to purchase, hiring a professional engineer over an averagehome inspector is the way to go.
