About the Author
Jeff Kinton is the owner of SafeHarbor Inspection Group and has completed more than 5,000 home inspections throughout the Atlanta area. His approach is simple: explain what matters, put defects in proper context, and provide perspective instead of panic.
Atlanta Home Inspector Since 2015
For Buyers, For Clarity
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Independent Home Inspector or Large Inspection Company: Which Is Right for You?
By Jeff Kinton
SafeHarbor Inspection Group
Quick Answer
Both independent home inspectors and larger multi-inspector companies can provide excellent home inspections. The most important thing is knowing who will actually inspect your home.
Larger inspection companies can offer advantages such as greater scheduling flexibility, administrative support, and another qualified inspector when someone's schedule is full.
An independent inspector offers something different: you know exactly who you're hiring. The person you speak with before the inspection is often the same person who inspects the house, walks you through the findings, prepares the report, and answers your questions afterward.
I've worked both ways during my career and there are advantages to each.
But whichever route you choose, I'd spend at least as much time researching the individual inspector as the company whose name appears on the website.
I've Worked on Both Sides
I started my inspection career working for a well-established multi-inspector company in Atlanta. And I was extremely fortunate. I had about as good a mentor as anyone entering this profession could ask for. He saw some raw potential in me and gave me an opportunity, but he also took the responsibility of training a new inspector very seriously.
For roughly two years, I went on virtually every inspection with him.
He didn't simply give me a checklist, a flashlight and a company shirt and send me into the world. He made sure I was ready.
Considering the responsibility involved in evaluating someone's future home, I'm enormously grateful for that. Eventually, I began inspecting independently within the company alongside seven or eight other inspectors. It was a very well-run operation, and that experience gave me an appreciation for what a good multi-inspector company can offer.
It also gave me a useful perspective when I eventually decided to operate differently.
What Are the Advantages of a Larger Inspection Company?
The most obvious advantage is availability. Real estate due diligence periods can be short. If you need an inspection on Tuesday afternoon and your preferred inspector is unavailable, a larger company may have several other inspectors who can accommodate you. That's genuinely valuable.
There's also redundancy. An inspector can get sick. People take vacations. Life occasionally refuses to consult the calendar. With a larger company, another inspector may be able to step in without disrupting the client's schedule.
A well-run multi-inspector company may also have substantial administrative support and established systems for scheduling, agreements, payments, reports, ancillary services and client communication. And from an inspector's perspective, having other experienced inspectors around can be valuable too.
Homes occasionally present unusual conditions, and there's something to be said for having knowledgeable colleagues available to compare notes with. Those are real advantages.
But there's another side to having multiple inspectors under one company name.
Are All Inspectors at the Same Company the Same?
Not necessarily. A large inspection company may have hundreds or thousands of positive reviews, an excellent reputation and strong training standards. But ultimately, a company doesn't inspect your house. A person does.
Within any organization, individual inspectors can have different levels of experience, backgrounds, communication styles and areas of expertise. That doesn't mean one is necessarily good and another is bad. It means they're individuals.
If your real estate agent or a friend tells you, “I used ABC Inspection Company and they were fantastic,” one of the first questions I'd ask is, “Who was your inspector?” That's an important distinction.
The company may have provided a terrific experience, but the inspector standing in front of that particular house played an enormous role in creating it.
What Does an Independent Inspector Offer?
The biggest advantage, in my opinion, is continuity. When someone hires SafeHarbor, there's very little mystery about who they're hiring. It's me.
If you contact me before the inspection because there's something about the house that concerns you, I'm the person who hears about it. When I arrive at the property, I already know what you're concerned about.
I'm the person who performs the inspection. I'm the person who meets you for the walkthrough and explains what I found. I'm the person who writes the report. If you've added radon testing, I'm the person who places the monitor and comes back to retrieve it. If we've performed mold testing, I'm involved with the samples, laboratory results and reporting.
And if you call after the inspection because something in the report doesn't make sense or has been keeping you awake since 2:00 in the morning, you're talking to the same person who was actually inside, underneath and on top of the house. There's no handoff.
For something as important as understanding the condition of a home you're considering buying, I think that continuity has real value.
Personal Accountability Matters Too
There's another difference that comes naturally with running an independent inspection company. My work and my company's reputation are inseparable. When your name is attached directly to the business, there isn't much distance between the quality of your work and the reputation you've built.
Every inspection matters. Every report matters. Every conversation with a buyer matters.
That doesn't mean an inspector working for a larger company can't care every bit as much about doing excellent work. I've worked alongside inspectors who absolutely did, and I learned this profession from one of the best.
But as an independent inspector, there's nowhere for responsibility to disappear within an organization. If I missed something, I missed it. If I did an excellent job, I did it. And if you have a question afterward, you don't need to figure out which department or employee handled which part of your inspection. You call me.
Don't Let the Extras Distract You From the Inspection
Home inspection companies increasingly offer additional benefits and services alongside the inspection itself. Depending on the company, those might include warranties, repair programs, concierge services or other bundled features.
Some buyers may find those useful. But I'd be careful about making them the primary reason you choose an inspection company. Read the terms. Understand what's actually included. Decide whether the benefit has value to you. Then come back to the most important question: Who is inspecting the house?
No warranty, membership, add-on or promotional benefit can substitute for an experienced inspector doing a thorough job on the day of the inspection. The inspection should remain the main event.
How Should You Choose a Home Inspector?
Whether you're considering an independent inspector or a large inspection company, I'd look beyond the logo. Find out who will actually perform your inspection whenever possible. Look at that person's experience and professional background. Ask about certifications and training. Look at a sample inspection report if one is available.
Find out whether you're encouraged to attend the inspection or walkthrough and whether you'll have an opportunity to discuss the findings directly with the inspector. And think about what kind of experience you're looking for.
Some buyers place tremendous value on immediate scheduling availability and the resources of a larger organization. Others want to know exactly who they're hiring before the appointment is ever made. Neither preference is unreasonable.
So, Which Is Better?
Having worked within a larger inspection company and later built an independent inspection business of my own, I can see legitimate advantages to both models.
I wouldn't tell someone that a large company automatically provides a better inspection because it's large. And I wouldn't tell them an independent inspector automatically provides a better inspection because they're independent.
The quality of the inspector still matters more than the size of the company.
For me, the independent model allows me to provide the kind of inspection experience I want my clients to have: personal, consistent and accountable from beginning to end.
But even if you don't hire SafeHarbor, I'd give you the same advice. Don't just research the inspection company. Research the person who will actually inspect your home.
Because when you're making one of the largest purchases of your life, the logo isn't going into the attic. The logo isn't crawling underneath the house. The inspector is.
Need a Home Inspection in Atlanta?
SafeHarbor Inspection Group has completed more than 5,000 home inspections throughout the Atlanta area. If you're buying a home and would like a thorough, easy-to-understand evaluation of the property, we'd be happy to help.