How Are We Different?

Recall Chek: We will be taking the appliance model numbers down and check to see if there are any recalls. Most recalls are for fire hazards.

90 Day Warranty:  We provide a 90 day limited warranty on all of our standard home inspections. If the AC doesn't work a week after you move in then our warranty company pays for the repair or replacement.

1/2 Price 2nd Inspection:  If you fail to purchase the home we inspect for any reason we will inspect another home at half the price it would normally be. We do about 5-8 of these a month, so it happens fairly often.

The Inspection is Your Own Personal Hands On Training Manual:  We will explain the systems in the home, show you how to operate and maintain them and back it up with a comprehensive written report with photos.

200% Guarantee:  If your not completely satisfied when the inspection is complete, we will not only not charge you for the inspection, but we will pay to have another inspector from another company come out and inspect it again.

If you can find another inspector that does all that we do and he's cheaper, we will match his price.

A Professional Can Save You Money
Just image moving into your new home and there is 6 inches of water in the basement, because the inspector didn't know what Polybutylene pipe was. Due to the proliferation of sub-standard inspection training schools, there are now more inexperienced and incompetent inspectors than skilled ones. Don’t risk hundreds of thousands of dollars to save a hundred bucks. Ask your realtor to recommend only the most experienced home inspectors. We at ProTec are proud to have saved our clients on average more than $4000 per inspection because we know what we are doing.

I recently talked to a client working as a contractor who wanted to know what we were going to inspect that he couldn’t do himself. I explained that we have thousands of things we are looking at. While I am sure he knows a great deal about homes and might be a great home inspector with some training, he was not qualified to do his own inspection. I made a bold bet with him. If he was not happy at the end of the inspection with what we found, and thought he could have done a better job, he didn’t have to pay me. Well, I got paid on that job. I have since extended that bet to all of our clients and now offer a 200% guarantee.

Maryland Home Inspectors Must Have a State License
As of the end of (2007), any unlicensed inspector will be operating illegally, subject to a fine. The seller is under no obligation to accept the opinion of an unlicensed inspector. At the current time there are less than 100 licensed inspectors in Maryland. Make certain that yours is one of them!

ASHI Certification Make a Difference
Certified inspectors by the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) have passed a comprehensive exam and performed at least 250 paid inspections. In addition, they must attend regular seminars to qualify and remain a member.

Watch Out for Kickbacks
Some inspection companies offer kickbacks to realtors in order to gain a greater market share. This type of arrangement is not conducive to an independent unbiased opinion. ASHI inspectors are prohibited from offering or receiving kickbacks of any sort. Typically, real estate firms that deal with only a single inspection company are receiving kick backs from that company. In some areas of the country this is a big problem. Several inspection firms and inspectors have had to leave ASHI for this reason in recent years.

Experience Counts
Your inspector should have performed a minimum of several thousand inspections or been in and around the industry to properly put the home in perspective and know where to look for the unusual problems. It takes years of experience to be able to talk about one thing, write another thing, and look at a third item at the same time, and know what to say about each. All ProTec inspectors are associated with the American Society of Home Inspectors and have extensive field experience. We are constantly training and upgrading the skills of all of our inspectors. I have interviewed more than 20 currently licensed inspectors that wanted to work for ProTec that were not qualified. By the way many are still out there doing inspections on their own. We only take on the best and our training is second to none.

You Get What You Pay For
Price is usually reflective of the inspectors experience, the time invested in the inspection and abilities of the inspector. A quality higher priced inspector taking his time will miss far fewer items than a cheap inexperienced one racing through the building and thus be a better deal in the long run. Most home inspectors know what they are worth and charge appropriately. Is the largest investment of your life the place to start pinching pennies? We have been called out dozens of times to re-inspect homes where serious problems were missed by other home inspectors.

The Inspection Report
Your report should be both descriptive and complete. ProTec offers either a hand written punchlist report on site at the time of the inspection or (preferred by 98% of our clients) a type written 20-40 page report that includes pictures of problems along with recommended repairs and maintenance. The type-written report is usually emailed to the client within 24 hours of the inspection.

Click here to view a Sample Report.