Home inspector

Key Takeaways

• Washington requires a state license to work as a home inspector, and it is unlawful to advertise or hold yourself out as one without it.
• A home inspection is a visual review using simple tools and normal homeowner controls. It is not technically exhaustive and does not find concealed or latent defects.
• Washington's home inspector standards of practice apply to buildings with four or fewer dwelling units and their attached garages or carports.
• Every real estate firm must keep a written policy for home inspector referrals, and a licensee who refers an inspector they have a business or family relationship with must disclose that in writing first.

What It Means

A home inspector is a licensed professional who examines a property and reports on the condition of its systems and structure: roof, foundation and framing, exterior, plumbing, electrical, heating and cooling, insulation and ventilation, interiors, and site drainage. The examination is visual and non-invasive. The inspector looks at accessible areas, uses simple tools and the same controls a homeowner would use, and writes up what is deficient. An inspector does not open walls, does not promise that hidden problems are absent, and does not give an opinion of value.

That scope limit is the part buyers misread most often. An inspection report describes condition on the day of the inspection. It is not a warranty, and it is not an Appraisal, which estimates market value for a lender. In a live transaction the report drives decisions without making them: it feeds the buyer's inspection Contingency, the repair request, the renegotiation, and sometimes the decision to walk. The inspector's own rules of conduct require acting as an unbiased party and disclosing conflicts of interest in writing, and that neutrality is what gives the report its weight.

How It Works in Washington

Washington licenses home inspectors under chapter 18.280 RCW. RCW 18.280.020 makes it unlawful for a person to engage in, advertise, or hold himself or herself out as conducting the business of a home inspector in this state without first obtaining a license. The scope of the work comes from the standards of practice in chapter 308-408C WAC. WAC 308-408C-010 states that the purpose of a home inspection is to assess the condition of the residence at the time of the inspection using visual observations, simple tools, and normal homeowner operational controls, and that the inspection is not technically exhaustive and does not identify concealed conditions or latent defects. Those standards cover buildings with four or fewer dwelling units. WAC 308-408C-020 supplies the ethics rules, including a full written disclosure of any business, familial, or financial relationship with another party to the transaction, and a bar on the inspector's firm repairing, replacing, or upgrading for compensation any component or system in a building it inspected for one year. On the brokerage side, RCW 18.85.035 directs that procedures be adopted for agents making home inspector referrals, and WAC 308-124C-125 requires each firm's Designated Broker to maintain a written policy on those referrals that protects the consumer's right to freely pick an inspector of their own choice.

Example

Devon and Priya Shah go under contract on a 1978 rambler in Olympia at $535,000 with a 10-day inspection contingency. Their broker hands them the firm's written referral policy and three licensed inspectors to choose from, and notes in writing that one of the three is her brother-in-law. The Shahs hire a different inspector and pay $625. His report flags an active roof leak, a failed pressure relief valve on the water heater, and knob-and-tube wiring in the attic, and it states that the crawl space was not fully accessible. The Shahs ask for $9,500 off the price. The seller counters with $6,000 plus a new water heater, the Shahs accept, and they waive the contingency with two days left on the clock.

Common Mistakes and Exam Traps

• An inspection is not an appraisal. An inspector reports on condition, and an appraiser gives an opinion of value for the lender.
• An inspection report is not a warranty. Washington's standards of practice say the inspection is not technically exhaustive and does not identify concealed conditions or latent defects.
• The seller disclosure statement and the inspection report are different documents. One records what the seller knows, and the other records what a licensed third party observed.
• Referring an inspector is permitted. Failing to disclose in writing a business or family relationship with that inspector is what breaks the rule.