With the exorbitant price of property today, it is IMPERATIVE that you know the qualifications unique to the individual professional inspector who you will ultimately be selecting to look out for your financial, health, and safety interests in the purchase. Remember, you are not simply purchasing or comparing prices of a commodity, such as a television set, which will vary from retailer-to-retailer only by price. Prudent buyers of real estate are comparing and ultimately "purchasing" the individual knowledge, experience, technical and communication skills of the professional inspector they will be working with. It should be noted that these skill traits will vary dramatically, from inspector to inspector.

Proceed with caution when calling larger multi-inspector firms. Typically, inspection-scheduling requests are taken by a receptionist or office manager. You will probably never know who the actual inspector will be, or talk to him/her, much less know the individual qualifications of the inspector, prior to the actual inspection day. Rest assured when you call my office only I, Michael R. Moore, will answer the phone call, address your questions, book the inspection request, and ultimately perform the actual inspection.

Since the inspection industry is not licensed in California ANYONE can advertise and perform inspections, and as the saying goes, "You get what you pay for". 

While the question “What do you charge for a building inspection?” is certainly valid, reasonable, and an expected inquiry, it should have minimal affect and be placed at a very low priority in your qualification and ultimate selection of a professional inspector. The initial "savings' of less than a few hundred dollars on a "discount" building inspection will most likely be offset many times over (possible many thousands of dollars) in cost incurred at a latter date as a result of understated, missed, or otherwise unreported defects. To be sure, homebuyers placing too much emphasis on the PRICE of an inspection instead of the VALUE (i.e., the knowledge, qualifications, and experience of the inspector) are committing a grave and potentially very costly error in their home purchase process.

My post-inspection contacts/surveys with my clients have indicated that typically the fee paid for the inspection is recouped anywhere from 5-20 times over ($ 2,000 to $ 20,000) either in money credits provided, repairs made, or an overall cost reduction on the selling price of the property. In this light, the price of a building inspection can be thought of as a very cost effective “investment” of sorts, providing very good return for the money spent.