The decision that you are about to make or have been contemplating carries quite a bit of gravity. It is not merely a financial consideration or the weight that it bears but more importantly, it will have a direct and lasting impact on your peace of mind as you move forward in what will be the writing of your next chapter. Whether this next chapter is purchasing the home where you will create a lifetime of lasting memories or an entrepreneurial commercial venture, your well being hinges on the integrity of sound decision making. Who will you trust to perform the physical evaluation of one of the largest financial commitments that one can make?
You are here because you need to place your faith and trust with a qualified and competent inspector.
There are three very simple questions that you should have answered before determining who is best suited to carry out this all important task:
1) Is the inspector licensed and insured?
2) Is the inspector professionally certified?
3) How many years of experience does the inspector offer?
Truth be told, the first two questions do not present a very difficult bar to clear. Online courses and applications make it rather easy to launch an inspection business. Don’t get me wrong, as there is definitive value in carrying such credentials but they can be readily attained by an inspector within their first year or two of operation. The state of Michigan does not even require an inspector to be licensed which means there are no certification or continuing education requirements. That is and should seem a bit scary! The closest state of licensing requirements and jurisdictional oversight is Indiana. As such, a truly vested inspector will carry this license as a display of competence, accountability, and a means of being able to offer professional inspection services to a diverse yet geographically contiguous region. The answer to question number three is what truly defines the level of achievement and should be your deciding factor. There is no greater measure of the ability to perform a task at the highest level of competency than the amount of time and experience for which the task has been performed.
I have been providing inspection services since 1995. That is 30 years of on the job experience serving a multitude of both residential and commercial clientele. This experience is well traveled and includes the metropolitan areas of Chicago, Northwest Indiana, and Southwestern Michigan. From 1995 until we relocated to Southwestern Michigan in 2004, my business provided inspection and consulting services for homeowners, investors, and residential / commercial developers in the Chicagoland area. To ease our transition into Michigan I maintained a contractual relationship with a handful of clients back in Chicago until 2007 which allowed me the necessary time to replicate the business model here in Michigan and Northwest Indiana. As you have probably surmised, I serve Southwestern Michigan, am licensed in Indiana, insured, and proud to carry the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) certification, the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNachi) Certified Master Inspector (CMI) designation, and the Certified Commercial Property Inspectors Association (CCPIA) certification.