Frequently Asked Questions

Most frequent questions and answers

What is a home inspection?

Home Inspection is a comprehensive examination of the condition of a property using tools, technology & well laid out process, often in connection with the buying/selling/renting of that property. Home inspections should be conducted by internationally qualified and well-trained inspectors in a non-invasive method. 

For a detailed explanation, please visit: https://www.homeinspektor.com/what-is-a-home-inspection/



When is the best time to avail inspection services?

In case of a new property, you can ideally avail inspection services before the possession of the property i.e. when the owner/builder/developer communicates that your property is ready for hand over and you can inspect your property for any defects/issues. If you already have taken possession recently, you can still consider a home inspection as outlined in the article here – https://www.homeinspektor.com/home-inspection-after-possession/.

 In case of an old property, you can avail inspection services before buying or selling so that you can evaluate the actual condition of the property & the report may help you in your negotiation process.



How much time does it take for inspecting a house?

Inspection of a typical residential flat/villa takes anywhere between 2 to 3 hours. However, this is dependent on other factors too like layout, access, furnished vis-a-vis bare shell & so on. Older and/or large dimension houses can take longer time to inspect. Here’s some more information: https://www.homeinspektor.com/from-quora-how-long-will-a-home-inspection-take/

What are the documents I need to share with you before the inspection process?

Once you place an order, we suggest that you share the following documents with us:

  1. The property layout plan (floorplan) with dimensions 
  2. The agreed specification of the materials used in the property, usually this is an annexure in your sale agreement; note that we do not need the entire Agreement copy.
  3. The electrical diagram of your unit 

Wherever access to your property is an issue, we would require an authorization letter from the owner/builder/developer of the property as permission for carrying out the inspection service.

What is the experience/ capabilities of your team?

Our inspectors have rich experience in the construction field, being part & parcel of real estate industry. Upon request, we will be happy to share the experience and qualification of the inspector(s) assigned for your property inspection once you place an order. 

Our home inspectors also are InterNACHI certified. Here’s more information about what this certification means: https://www.nachi.org/internachi-partners-homeinspektor-ppms-india.htm

Would you also inspect common areas, parking, or any other common facility in the property?

95% of our inspection work happens inside your unit. Having said that, there are common areas that we assess just outside your main entrance or shaft/utility area attached to your unit. 

We cannot inspect the common areas because of the following reasons: 

  1. Most often when we visit the site for inspection, common areas, parking and other amenities are still under construction 
  2. The builder/developer does not provide us access to the common areas since we’ve been appointed by customers,

When will the inspection report be available?

Soft copy of the draft inspection report will be shared for reading within 48-72 hours of completion of the inspection. In certain cases, if there is a delay in uploading the report within the stipulated time, it will be communicated along with the reason for such delay. Draft doesn’t mean it is incomplete, it only means this draft copy is being shared for review and clarifying any construction terms/vocabulary that is not clear to customers. Once we complete this in our system, draft watermark is removed and the report sits in the cloud account that customers can access and review from anywhere in the world.

 

Why should I trust you; what is the credibility of the report?

Our vision is to be the trusted advisor of home buyers & sellers; we will not be “walking the talk” if we don’t excel in this business & only way we can do is by gaining the trust of our clients. You can get a glimpse of the trust entrusted in us here: Groupies  | Testimonials

Our aim is to capture all aspects of your property during the inspection process and give you a 360°  view of the property in our report; this is possible because of the dedicated & focussed team that we work with.

 

Would you come along to meet the owner/builder/developer to discuss the report?

As trusted advisor for home buyers & sellers, we intend to be the neutral party, capturing all the specifics of the property during the inspection process & document it in the report. Moreover, the report flow is self explanatory with all findings captured  in detail along photographs which are annotated and processed. However, in case our client requires further support, we can accompany them to meet the owner/builder/developer but this will have additional commercial implications to the client since it involves additional time and effort of inspectors.

Do you provide inspection services for outstation clients?

We are currently operational in Bangalore, Chennai & neighbouring areas. We do have plans to expand to other cities as well. Please Contact Us with your request and we will get back as soon as we are operational in your city.

How much does an inspection cost?

Our pricing usually depends on the size and layout of the home being inspected. Having said that, we do offer preferential prices across many projects that we do inspections, day-in/day-out. Do Contact Us with the project information and we would be more than happy to communicate on how much it would cost you for an inspection.

What are the payment terms & conditions?

Payment for an inspection is always upfront and needs to be done electronically via our secure partner Instamojo BEFORE the inspection begins. Under no circumstances would a refund be allowed.

Is there any discount on multiple property inspection orders?

The simple answer is ‘no’ since every home inspection is a rigorous, time bound, quality work involving tools & processes. However, if multiple properties are in the same vicinity/area which saves us on transportation & other operational costs then we will be happy to pass on that saving to our clients.

 

Do you need an authorization letter from the owner/builder/developer of the property before inspection?

If access to your property is an issue then we would require an authorization letter from the owner/builder/developer of the property before inspection of the property.

Do you have any accreditation from any real estate regulatory body?

Inspection being a global phenomenon, there are already international bodies, organisations that are operational. We represent India chapter of one such body called InterNACHI ( Inter­national Association of Certified Home Inspectors). Also, we are considering enrolling ourselves with real estate regulatory bodies in India. As you would understand, it is a time consuming process involving administrative overheads.

Will you provide a paper copy of the report?

Once the inspection is completed, the report will be uploaded to user account & it can be downloaded & printed at individual convenience. This is in line with our belief that digital is the way to go and we try our best to contribute in reducing carbon footprint. However, if customers want us to send a paper copy of the report, we can do the needful but would at an additional cost.

Do I need to be present at the time of inspection?

It is not mandatory to be present but we highly recommend you to be present to get a feel of the process being followed, tools being used for the inspection. It is the perfect opportunity to ask specific questions about the condition of the home, defects being reported/seen. Also, at the end of the inspection, the lead inspector will give a walk-through of their findings which keeps you aware and can relate to the issues better, when you get the report. However, we also seek cooperation from customers that inspector may not be in a position to answer all the queries/concerns since inspection requires concentration & careful observation by the inspector and he/she also needs to adhere to the specific timelines set for the inspection. Else, we may miss our next client deadline!

What happens if the inspector does not arrive on time?

Time is of the essence & we value it with utmost care; We believe in quality over quantity, hence in all probability, our inspectors will be on time. In some extreme cases, knowing the traffic situation around us where we live, if the inspector is running late, he/she will update you on the latest status which enables you to plan accordingly.

What happens if the inspection service takes more time than scheduled?

We understand time is valuable and are always striving to balance the time spent by inspectors at property location against the inspection at hand. However, we also believe that the quality of work should not be impacted due to time pressure. In such unlikely events, inspectors are trained to update you if the scheduled work takes longer than expected. During planning, we request you to buffer about half an hour more than the stated time to complete the inspection.

 

Can I place a request without registering on your site?

To better utilise the technology that we have put in place, we need clients to register on our website while placing an order for inspection. Going forward, the marketplace would offer real estate specific insights once traffic flows on the platform & the same will be accessible to clients only if they are registered users. Please note that we respect and maintain high confidentiality norms with regard to client information.

Do I need to pay before the inspection service? What are the modes of payment?

Yes, once the home inspector accepts your order, you need to pay on the platform post which the Inspection App opens up, for inspector to start the inspection process. At present, we have integrated with Instamojo for payment using UPI/Credit/Debit/Wallet/Netbanking modes. To a large extent, we do not encourage paying by cash mode to avoid any last minute glitches for the Inspection App, considering poor connectivity situations at site. We highly recommend online payment (including situations where customers can pay into our bank account directly) before the start of inspection. For cash payment mode, fees have to be paid to the inspector before the commencement of inspection process else inspector has the right to cancel such inspection service & charge a minimum administrative charge.

Is there a rating mechanism?

Yes, the very backbone of marketplace is the rating mechanism. Once the inspection is completed, our clients are requested to provide feedback about their experience of the home inspection service.

Do you undertake rectification work or recommend any service providers?

No. it will be conflicting our nature of work to perform rectification works. Having said that, our inspectors are more than happy to share their knowledge and insight, helping clients in deciding future course of action. In future, as a value added service, we may list curated service providers on our marketplace whom our clients can engage for any rectification process.



Can we contact you with queries post the inspection?

Inspection service is a time bound work & within the given time-window, we will try to clarify any questions that you may have in the best possible way.

Are there prerequisites before i plan an inspection?

Simple answer is, yes. Since customers pay for the service, we feel it is important to give them a heads up about readiness for inspection than being surprised at site for any incomplete work or utilities not being ready! Please Contact Us to know more about prerequisites once you decide on inspection service. This will help our customers to maximise the outcome of inspection service than having to sign up again and again!