Here are some of the resources available:
1. Home Inspection Video - See a home inspection!
2. Read an actual home inspection report.
3. Read/search Barry Stone's column, Inspector's In the House (below).
4. Send a question using the form to the right. ===>
5. If you are a Seller, get your own inspection before you put your home on the market.

California does not require any license to be a home inspector, so it is important for both home buyers and sellers to make sure that they hire an inspector who is a certified residential inspector and who carries errors and omissions insurance. To help you think through the selection of your home inspector, click here for our 10 Tips.

QUESTIONS/ANSWERS Click on any of these topics to read questions and answers by syndicated columnist Barry Stone.
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As a buyer, you can be present on the home inspection (and we really recommend it). Being there gives you a chance to ask questions, to see and discuss what Mark has found, and to ask other questions about your new home. Some of the areas inspected include: structure, heating and cooling, roof, electrical system, plumbing and fixtures, attic, basement and/or crawl space, foundation, gutters, insulation, interior and exterior walls, porches and decks, and the water heater and appliances.

A good inspector helps both buyers and sellers become aware of any defects that weren't already known. (If they had been known, they would have been disclosed.) Please note: Sellers have no obligation to repair any defects. Repair requests are just that--requests. However, if an unknown defect is a safety issue, violates the then-current building code, or affects functionality, many sellers will accommodate the request in one way or another. A good inspection helps to put all those issues on the table so that everyone is satisfied with the transaction.

For information about various topics, just click on any of the links to the left or run your own search! One of our 600+ articles is posted below.

Electric Shutoff at A/C Unit is Good Idea
Inspector's in the House by Barry Stone, Certified Building Inspector

Dear Barry,
My heating and cooling system was recently serviced by an air conditioning contractor. He advised that I hire a licensed electrician to install an electric shutoff switch at the A/C unit behind the garage. Frankly, I don't see why this should be necessary. The system operates perfectly, and there is an adequate shutoff switch at the main electric service panel. Do you know of any reason why I should install this switch?
Norm

Dear Norm,
Be assured your contractor is right. The code requires that there be an electric disconnect switch near your air conditioning unit. The purpose of this requirement has nothing to do with performance, but rather with safety. It enables a repair technician to turn off the power at the work site, with the assurance that no one will turn on the power while his hands are engaged with the internal components of the system.

It's easy to understand why your contractor would like to see a switch at the required location: It could save his life. My advice is to have this condition corrected by a licensed electrician.

' 2000 Barry Stone.

Distributed by Access Media Group. To write to Barry Stone, please visit him on the web at www.housedetective.com.