Recently I had the opportunity to meet with Alan Carson, the President and Co-Founder of Carson Dunlop – the pioneer of home inspections. The company started in 1978 and they have done more than 125,000 inspections. These guys are engineers and professionals! Alan served as President of the American Society of Home Inspectors, the leading international organization of home inspectors in North America, and he is a founding member of both the Canadian Association of Home and Property Inspectors and The Ontario Association of Home Inspectors. He knows his stuff! Actually, he knows it so well that he has used his skills to create courses that now help teach budding home inspectors in colleges and universities across the country how to be the best home inspectors you will ever meet.
So, according to Carson Dunlop, what exactly is a home inspection?
A Home Inspection Is:
- An in-field evaluation and professional opinion of the performance of the readily accessible installed systems in a home at one point in time
- Primarily a visual examination
- Intended to identify components that are significantly deficient, unsafe or near the end of their life
- Documented with a written report
A Home Inspection Is Not:
- An insurance policy, guarantee or warranty on the home
- An invasive or destructive exercise
- Intended to identify concealed defects
- A code or design review
- Able to predict the future or the remaining life of components
- An environmental review or energy audit
Components Included:
- Roof, Structure, Exterior, Electrical System, Heating & Air Conditioning System, Plumbing System, Insulation and Vapour Barriers, Interior, and Mechanical and Natural Ventilation Systems
Components Excluded:
- Cosmetics, Outbuildings, Swimming Pools & Spas, and Specialty Systems including Telephone, Cable TV, Alarm Systems, and Lawn Sprinklers.
So, now you know! As CarsonDunlop says, you are Powered by Knowledge.
