On a recent trip to the hardware and implement store, I purchased a rubber mallet and inexpensive hatchet from one of those bargain tool bins you encounter in the center isle near the checkout lanes. It was an impulse buy (just as they hope you do) for some tools I thought would come in handy on our next family camping trip. I knew better, but foolishly figured I'd at least get a season out of them. Every tool in the bin was color coded by price, and all were under $5.00. I threw them in the camper for our next trip the following weekend. As we were setting up camp, I grabbed the rubber mallet to pound in stakes for the ground mat outside the camper. On the third steak the handle broke and the rubber end went flying, narrowly missing my head. So much for the season with that one! I grabbed the hatchet and used the blunt end to finish the task. Camp was finally set and I needed to start the fire. I grabbed the hatchet to split a small log for kindling. With the hatchet wedged nearly center, I began to pound the log against terra firma. The log resisted and the inevitable happened. The metal handle of the hatchet bent... slightly at first, then almost fully to a 90 degree angle from the head. INCREDIBLE! I thought to myself. I knew these tools were cheap... but seriously? Not even capable of completing a full task or surviving a few minutes use! Even under $10 each, it was not money well spent... it was money and time wasted... replicas of better tools in appearance only! Oh they came with a lifetime warranty... so I could certainly replace them AFTER the camping trip when they were needed the most. And I did replace them... with more expensive and better quality tools I KNEW I could rely on in the future.
Experience and knowledge are incredibly important when choosing a home inspector or commercial building inspector! This also comes with a price you won't find in the bargain areas. Not much different than strength and durability of quality tools.
The qualified inspectors know their value and charge accordingly. The same can be said for the unqualified as well! Bargain basement fees are precisely that. You get what you pay for (and often less), just as I had with my purchase of the bargain bin tools.
With the recent surge in real estate occurring in several markets, the industry is seeing more and more bargain basement companies hanging out their freshly printed signs and calling themselves 'inspectors'. They can certainly be attractive to unsuspecting consumers enticed by their low low prices and endless array of 'free' widgets to [cough] sweeten the deal. They can't set themselves apart with experience or legitimate qualifications... so all they have left is price and perhaps a worthless free widget or two.
So how do you tell them apart?
One needs to research and ask specific questions above and beyond the typical "how much". Low price is often a dead giveaway. Incompetency is often more difficult to determine. But if you do a little digging in your research, you might come across some of the low cost options asking questions like:
Or this...
Or this...
Or this...
Or this...
Or even this...
Oh yes... these are real questions posed by 'inspectors' who's clients I can only pray got a second and far more qualified opinion... not just a broken mallet and bent hatchet with a warranty.
Caveat emptor!