HOME INSPECTION AND RADON MEASUREMENT Chicago, Illinois (708) 453-8447

 

There are some inspectors today boasting of something to the effect of: "I’ve been an Inspector for over 15 years and I’ve done 7 thousand inspections."In Illinois Home Inspection only became licensed in 2003, so before that it was not very official or professional, and there were no legal rules to define what a home inspection was. 

You have to ask- What Regulations or basic standards were followed?, what kinds of “inspections” were performed and what really did they consist of?  It could be anything goes and the “inspector” could be anyone, so how much weight does that really hold? Some of those “inspections” were very likely simple checklists, of maybe a few areas, maybe just an exterior drive by. It was really just up to them, they could have also counted every time they went to a property to give an estimate on a construction job. Hey, you could do ten of those a day. How long would it take? 15 minutes?

Before licensing, unless they were part of an organization that certifies the individual and they were personally adhering to some kind of home inspection standard, it is meaningless and can’t be counted as an official inspection. THE ONLY WAY IT COUNTS FOR SOMETHING LEGALLY IN ILLINOIS IS IF IT’S A LICENSED INSPECTOR DOING A HOME INSPECTION ACCORDING TO STATE STANDARDS.

I am proud to say that I have been a legal licensed home inspector and have been a member of InterNACHI from the beginning, and I have performed my inspections according to the IL state standards and Nachi standards.

So when you hear talk about 20+ years as an inspector, ask them if they were at least certified by a professional organization and if they performed ALL of the inspections to a defined minimum standard.

 

 

A lot of times, you will see home inspectors pull up in a huge truck. Some may think that your not serious unless you drive a truck.

Ive had a suburban, two full size vans and a large 70s pick up. I really liked trucks more than cars.

I was thinking about getting a good 4 cylinder minivan with a large area for advertizing myself, but im actually pretty happy with my current inspection vehicle --- my black toyota corrolla.

Why?

For one,the gas mileage is much better than most trucks, (unless you have paid the large premium in price to get a gas efficient truck- ironic) Now that allows me to travel farther without having to charge my clients extra.My license is for ILLINOIS, so i dont mind travelling sometimes.
Environmnetalyspeaking.. why drive an 6 to 8 cylinder massive truck when you can get there in a 4? Now if you were going to haul construction materials, or a furnace or the like, well yeah, use a good american made truck. But as a home inspector in illinois your not at all allowed to perfom work on a property you inspected, so your just bringing yourself, some tools and some ladders along. No big deal. Same goes when its a radon measurement i am going to. all i need are my monitors, stands, and my paperwork.

Consider this as well---- when i have a inspection in the city- it is easier to find parking and im always on time. Even more so for condos on the lake front of chicago, or say the marina towers, or any busy neighborhood.
In this market there are more than a few short sales and forclosures. More than often they will be in a scetchy area where you wouldnt normally like to park a expensive truck.I can easily fit my little giant type ladder in the front seat when it is laying down, or i can attach it to my roof rack, which is also removable from inside. Tools are hidden in the trunk, or backseat and i run less of a risk of tool theft. Contractor trucks seem to get robbbed quite a bit of their tools, because they know it is a good chance that youll find highend power tools.
So, for some good reasons, i use a car for my inspection vehicle.