After a Home Inspection Who Should Make the Repairs?

When you receive your home inspection report you will find out about many things that will need to be fixed or repaired. Some things will be small and other repairs will be large. In some cases a handy man will do. In other cases a contractor will need to be called in. It is important to ask the inspector his opinion on the matter. Most Home Inspectors will not reinspect the repairs on a home or property unless the repairs were made by a qualified licensed contractor. Even then the best home inspectors will want to see invoices for the completed work. So when the seller of the home wants to fix a broken door knob or the chalking around a window it is pretty safe to say that would be OK… Plumbing, roofing, electrical, foundation, stucco and framing should be left to the professionals.
In the state of California your home inspector can not make any needed repairs on the home or property for a minimum of 12 months. If your home inspector offers to make any repairs, call someone else. Get a second opinion. Frequently, we get the request in our office for a “partial” inspection. This is just another of those things that truly escapes my logic. While I am sure that the basis for this request is the desire to reduce the expense of the inspection, partial inspections are often a high-risk event for everyone concerned. The liability for home inspectors is high. So are the dollar amounts involved.