Try to get recommendations from Hawaii real estate agents or other professionals. Look for inspectors who belong to trade organizations such as the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI). Make sure the inspector or his or her company has been in business for several years at minimum.

 

Since having home inspections is such a new field, the inspectors themselves tend to be new at it. Most states have not yet begun licensing home inspectors, although that is sure to come eventually. Currently in many areas all that a person needs to do to become an inspector is print up some business cards and hang out a shingle.

 

You should consider the background of the inspector. Many are from the building trades, former contractors of one sort or another. However, just because a person knows how to build a new house (or put in plumbing or an electrical system) does not mean they know what to look for when inspecting an existing dwelling.

 

Your best bet is probably a former city or county build­ing inspector. Often when these people retire, they become private home inspectors, and they usually are good at it. They've seen all sorts of homes as public inspectors, and they usually are up-to-date on the current building code.

 

Additionally, you may need specific inspections cover­ing such areas as soil, roof, or structure. Your best bet here is someone who has an engineering degree in the field.

 

Be wary of hiring inspectors who are themselves involved in building or repairs. For example, if the roof inspector you hire happens to be a roofer, his or her opin­ion is always subject to suspicion. Is this person saying the roof on the property is bad because it really is or because they are looking to get a roofing job? A generally good rule to follow is to hire only those companies for inspections that do not do repair work themselves.

 

Recently I've noted a number of inspection companies that have found a clever way around this safeguard rule. They claim that they do not do any repair work. This may be a fact; however, they will then recommend another company (in which they may have an interest) that does this type of repair work. This is still a bit like letting the wolf and his brother into the hen house. The best bet is to go for an inspector who, if he or she recommends repair companies, simply hands you a list of names and phone numbers without comment and lets you check them out.