A home inspection is a professional consulting service that determines the present condition of the home’s accessible major systems and components during a visual inspection. Inspections are most often conducted as part of a real estate transaction, but may also be done as a warranty inspection, renovation inspection, home maintenance inspection or for various other reasons.

An appraiser looks at the market value of the property, this is generally done prior to the home inspection. An appraisal is often required by a bank to ensure the property value is in line with the funds being loaned to purchase it. A home inspector looks at the property structure along with systems and components, they are not concerned with what the property is worth.

Let’s look at it this way, you probably wouldn’t buy a used car without having a mechanic look it over so given that most homes are priced in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Thus, it makes sense to spend the relatively small amount in comparison cost to obtain a professional home inspection that provides a report on the condition of the property and identifies possible costly concerns prior to closing the deal.

A home inspection typically takes 2-3 hours or sometimes up to 4 hours depending on the size of the property. What happens during the home inspection?

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The price for a professional home inspection can vary across Canada, but for an average home, the cost is typically between $450 - $700. Price can be dependent on property size, location, and any special additional services requested. To book a home inspection or obtain a quote, visit: Home

A professional home inspector will do a visual inspection of the accessible internal and external aspects of the property. This includes systems such as surface grading and drainage, roofing, insulation, ventilation, chimneys, exterior siding, windows and doors, structural integrity, foundation, electrical and plumbing.

Home inspectors use software or a paper report that itemizes the areas they need to cover when performing a home inspection – this ensures nothing is missed, however, it is the individual inspectors level of training, that allows him to accurately report on the condition of the items on this list.

As part of the conditions of sale, a buyer will most often bring in a home inspector to go over the property. Hiring your own inspector when you list the property will help to provide prior knowledge of potential concerns. The inspection report you receive provides an itemized list of problems areas you may wish to address. This allows you time to do the repairs yourself and attach receipts or obtain repair quotes to prevent eliminate buyer inflated quotes. Knowing the condition of your property allows you to price accordingly to help prevent eleventh hour negotiations.

In Canada, there are only three provinces with home inspection regulation (Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario). The inspectors in BC and AB must meet specific educational requirements to be licensed including on the job training hours and have proper insurance coverage. Ontario is still working on their home inspection regulations and have not yet set requirements. All Canadian Residential home inspectors receive the same strict training program regardless of their location, which meets government regulations in all licensed jurisdictions. We at Canadian Residential would be happy to see home inspection regulation adopted throughout Canada.

Each home inspection association has its own Standard of Inspection that its members must adhere to. The CSA Standard was developed by the CSA Group in hope that it would be adopted as a Canada wide Standard however, this has not yet happened. Most inspection associations have retained their own Standard of Inspection to date.

RHI is a designation provided by one of the home inspection associations - the Canadian Home and Property Inspectors Association (C.A.H.P.I.) RHI means Registered Home Inspector; the designation is achieved through the completion of continuing credit training hours and hours of inspection. There are many different associations throughout Canada and each have their own designation for the inspectors that have obtained the required on the job hours and education credits, for example: C.M.I. (Certified Master Inspector with InterNACHI) PHI (Professional Home Inspector with APHIS); AHI (Accredited Home Inspector with HIABC) etc.

As home inspectors, we ask a series questions before utilizing a ladder.

Does a ladder provide the safest means of access and egress for the work location and type of work?

Is the type of ladder available most suitable considering the workplace restrictions and conditions?

Is the height of a roof below a height that allows for safe one-man access?

Is there sufficient space to prop the ladder?

Is there a safe distance from power lines?

Is the top support safe and would the ladder damage the property?

Is the footing support level, safe and a non-slip surface?

Is the surface of the roof safe to climb onto?

If we are in doubt about answering ANY of these questions in the affirmative, then utilising a ladder to access the roof can be considered a breach of the Occupational Health and Safety Act in most provinces. If we chose to ignore this and use a ladder anyway and an accident occurred, it is possible that the inspector would be charged under the Act and would also be unlikely to be able to claim any personal injury insurance.

Under the Standards of Practice of the Canadian Association of Home and Property Inspectors, home inspectors are required to:

A. Inspect:
1. Readily accessible roof coverings.
2. Readily accessible roof drainage systems.
3. Readily accessible flashings.
4. Readily accessible skylights, chimneys and roof penetrations.

B. Describe:
1. Roof coverings.

C. Report:
1. Method used to inspect the roof.