Buckeye, I am a licensed home inspector in North Carolina. My best advice to you is not to worry about the inspector. I have done hundreds of inspections in NC, and have met many very nervous home owners. The listing realtor will usually request the home owner not be present during the inspection, however, many homeowners insist on attending. In NC, the home inspector can not discuss his findings with anyone other than his client unless the client gives written permission to the home inspector.
In NC, in order to get a home inspectors license, you have to be an engineer, an architect, or a general contractor. Then you have to pass a state administered exam - usually takes about 4 hours for the exam. After passing the exam, you are then given a license. If you are not an engineer, architect or gen contractor, you can obtain a license by getting a licensed inspector to sponsor you, and by performing 100 inspections over a year under the licensed inspectors guidance. Then you have to take the exam mentioned above.
In NC we are required to inspect many items, some of which I'll list here:
Structural: floors, foundation, walls, columns or piers, ceilings, roofs
Exterior: wall cladding; flashings; trim; doors; windows; garage doors and operators; decks; balconies; stoops; steps; porches and applicable railings; eaves; soffits; fascias; vegation; grading; drainage; driveways; patios; walkways and retaining walls.
Roofing: roof coverings; drainage systems; flashings; skylights, chimneys and roof penetrations; signs of leaks or condensation on building components.
Plumbing: water distribution system; drain, waste and vent system; hot water systems; fuel storage and distribution systems; sump pumps.
Electrical: service entrance conductors; service equipment; grounding equipment; fuses/circuit breakers; main and distribution panels; amperage and voltage ratings; branch circuit conductors; operation of outlets, lights and ceiling fans; polarity and grounding of all receptacles within 6 feet of interior plumbing fixtures; ground fault circuit interrupters; smoke detectors.
Heating: normal operating controls; automatic safety controls; chimneys, flues and vents; heat distribution systems;.
Central air conditionins: normal operating controls; distribution systems.
Interior: walls; ceiling; floors; steps; stairways; balconies; ralings; counters; cabinets; doors and windows;
Insulation and ventilation: insulation; bentilation of attics and foundation; kitchen, bathroom and laundry ventins systems.
Built-in Kitchen appliances: permanently installed dishwasher; range, cook top and permanently installed oven; trash compactor; garbage disposal; bentilation equipment or range hood; permanently installed microwave oven.
All of the above items have to be documented as to their condition. The conditions are put into 4 categories:
Repair: Systems or components that do not function as intended, allowing for normal wear and tear, or adversely affect the habitability of the dwelling.
Investigate further: Systems or components which appear to warrant further investigation by a qualified specialist or require observation over a period of time.
Maintenance: routine upkeep of a component or system to keep it in proper operating condition.
Improvement: Recommend upgrade to enhance the function, efficiency or safety of the home. Completion of these items is recommended as time and budget permit.
Naturally the Repair and Investigate further categories are the ones most buyers are concerned with.
Now to answer your specific questions. The inspectors I know are not there to tear the house apart. There is nothing to be gained by the inspector severely down grading the house. Some sellers feel the inspector has to find something wrong to justify his fee. I disagree with this, however, I have only inspected one house where there was not a problem found. We are not concerned with cosmetic items unless it could be a safety hazard or affects one of the above areas. For example: I'm not concerned with wallpaper that is fading or has come loose at a seam. I am concerned about vinyl flooring that has come loose at a seam if the seam is in the middle of the room, and could be a tripping hazard.
A house, or the components in the house do not have to be modern. A house with aluminum wiring may have safety issues with some people, however, if everything checks out with the system, we only mention the fact that aluminum wiring was used, but then point out no problems were found with it. Also, a house with only 2 pronged outlets is o.k., as long as no defects are found, however, if someone has replaced the 2 pronged outlets with 3 pronged outlets, and has not grounded the outlets, then we have to list that as a defect.
Several people have posted that they had their houses inspected prior to listing. This is an excellent idea as it gives the owner a good indication of existing problems, and gives him a chance to repair those items at his leisure as opposed to finding out about a problem after a contract is signed, then having to either re-negotiate the price, or quickly find a contractor. To anyone thinking about selling, do yourself a favor and get an inspection done before you list the house.
When I do an inspection, I give the client a notebook with my report in it, along with a picture of the defects. The front cover is a picture of the front of the house, and the back cover is a picture of the back of the house. I also include pictures of things that are good about the house: for example: I will take a picture of where the water filter is located to remind the buyer to change the filter; or if an electrical panel is especially neat, I'll take a picture of that as well. I don't want the inspection report to be all negative, but want it to be a fair assessment of the condition of the house the day it was inspected. My report can then be displayed in the house for future buyers to see. If any repairs were made, the receipts showing the repair can be stapled to the picture of the defect to show the repair has been made. Sometimes the home owner will call me back to reinspect after repairs are made. Assuming everything was repaired satisfactorily, I'll write another report that deletes the repaired defects.
If you have any questions about inspections, don't hesitate to contact me.
