What Are Home Inspectors Not Allowed To Do

Home inspectors are certified to evaluate the condition of your property and provide you with a report that contains their findings. This is incredibly important in all sorts of real estate transactions, but you need to have realistic expectations. 

For example, you can’t expect a home inspector to appraise your property or provide you with repairs. 

This is why you should learn what are home inspectors not allowed to do, as it will keep your expectations in check and help you understand whether you need to hire other contractors for specific services.

Here’s a list of what are home inspectors not allowed to do.

1. Perform Repairs

A home inspector can point out areas that may require repairs, but they’re not allowed to perform the repairs themselves. Legally speaking, a home inspector can refer you to a third-party contractor but they would put their license in jeopardy if they offered to conduct repairs. 

It’s also worth noting that home inspectors are prohibited from taking any work from home inspection clients if they run a separate business that provides repair services. According to the InterNACHI code, they may be able to take work from the previous client only if 12 months have passed since the first home inspection. 

2. Inspect Dangerous Homes

If a property or an area of the home looks unsafe or has an obvious safety hazard, the inspector isn't allowed to examine it until the seller addresses the issue. Although this may seem annoying, it protects all the parties involved - the inspector can avoid putting themselves in an unsafe situation, which also benefits you because you are liable for injuries occurring on your property. The best example of this is an icy roof or a major electrical hazard.

3. Make Assumptions About Hazards

Home inspectors aren’t allowed to make any assumptions about specific safety hazards on a property without conducting an official test. This includes hazards such as radon, asbestos, and lead. 

The only exception to this is mold. Because it may not require professional treatment and can be identified through a visual inspection, the inspector can note signs of mold in the inspection report without performing testing. 

4. Offer Opinions on the Value of The Home

Even though it would be useful if an inspector could offer an opinion on the market value of the home, this falls into the category of what are home inspectors not allowed to do. An inspector can inform the buyer or the seller of the condition of the home and its major systems, but they’re not allowed to make an appraisal.

This isn’t to say that the results of the inspection don’t impact the property’s value. As such, the inspector can address how certain things may affect the value of the property, as long as they don’t make comments about the overall price of the property. 

5. Estimate the Lifespan of Home Systems

Inspectors must evaluate the current condition of the home and its system, yet, they’re prohibited from estimating life expectancy of said things. For instance, if you want to know how long an air conditioner will last, you should hire an HVAC professional and ask them to provide you with an estimate. 

While an inspector may be well-versed in HVAC systems, if it turns out their estimate was wrong, they can be held legally liable for any damages stemming from the mistake. 

6. Speculate About Local Building Codes

Building codes can be complex. For starters, they change constantly, so even if a part of the home isn’t up to code now, it may have been perfectly fine at the time of construction. Either way, it’s impossible to know without conducting deeper research. Because of this, home inspectors aren’t allowed to speculate whether parts of a home comply with local building codes. 

This doesn’t mean a home inspector can’t mention code compliance in an informal matter, but you should refrain from asking them to note down anything in the report. 

7. Speculate on Insurance-Related Matters

Similar to commenting on local building codes, home inspectors can’t speculate on any insurance-related matters. Since this area is outside their scope of expertise, inspectors could get in legal trouble if they comment on the insurability of the property. 

Even if they do find issues, they shouldn’t offer any opinions on matters such as whether you’ll have trouble with ensuring the property. 

8. Identify Property lines

In some cases, you may not be familiar with where property boundaries or easements are. However, you shouldn’t ask an inspector to provide you with this information. You can hire a land surveyor instead. Alternatively, you can also make a request with a local tax department and they’ll inform you about the property lines. 

9. Move Furniture

Home inspectors aren’t allowed to move personal property or furniture while conducting an inspection. This helps them avoid liability in the event they damage any item and injuring themselves. 

So, before the inspector arrives at your property, you should make sure no heavy objects are blocking access to certain areas of the home. This applies to the exterior and the interior of your property. For example, if there is furniture blocking the access to the attic, the inspector won’t be able to safely reach the area and they’ll most likely note this fact in the report, so make sure all areas of the home are accessible.

10. Assess the Aesthetics of a Home

A home may look borderline inhospitable, but it still doesn’t allow the inspector to comment on its appearance. According to InterNACHI, inspectors should only be concerned with the condition of the key home systems, not aesthetics.

Hire Only the Best Home Inspectors

Home inspectors are knowledgeable on a wide range of real-estate matters. Nonetheless, now that you know what are home inspectors not allowed to do, you can enter the inspection process with realistic expectations. You can determine which other professional contractors you may have to hire, including a realtor, land surveyor, or an appraiser. 

However, this doesn’t mean a home inspection is useless. Far from it. An inspection with an expert inspector is one of the easiest ways to determine if the property checks out.

Here at Guardian Angel Inspections, we strive to offer the highest level of service imaginable, and you can always expect us to inspect the property in question with the utmost professionalism - quickly and efficiently.

Hire only the best inspectors - use our contact form or call 561-512-7854 to schedule an inspection.