A home inspection is focused on providing the client with a better understanding of the home being inspected. An inspection will highlight areas requiring maintenance and identify systems or components that require the repair in excess of $1500 in the short term. In some cases, a specialist will be recommended to complete further investigation into an issue.

In the process of looking for major issues in a home, many small issues will be noticed. When they are found these issues will be reported, however there is no attempt made to list all the small things in a home and things cosmetic in nature may not be reported. For example: soiled carpet, chipped paint, etc. Our service should be considered on a value added basis, (adding to your understanding, not eliminating or accurately quantifying your risks). There are literally thousands of variables to consider and we are relatively certain that some things will escape our attention.

Unfortunately, no home inspection is able to accurately predict the future. We look at a home with a much more experienced set of eyes and use that experience to highlight defects and required maintenance. All houses require maintenance and repairs. If problems are left unattended they will not go away. They will grow larger and more expensive.

Prior to a home inspection being done, a home inspection agreement must be signed by the client or clients. This agreement is sent to our client(s) by fax or email 24-48 hours in advance of the inspection. Ideally, the signed agreement is faxed back to Hamcrest Inspections Inc. before the inspection is scheduled to begin.

The home inspection agreement is a very important document and defines the conditions and limitations of the home inspection. Please take the time necessary to read and understand this agreement. If there are questions they can be answered over the phone or at the start of the inspection. Our inspection agreement is available to download . If you do not already have the Adobe Acrobat Reader , it can be downloaded from the Adobe web site.

Our inspections are performed in accordance with the Standards of Practice (SOP) of the Ontario Association of Home Inspectors (OAHI). Our inspectors comply with the Code of Ethics of the Canadian Association of Home and Property Inspectors (CAHPI).

We cannot ensure, with complete certainty, that ...

1. your home is free of major problems, structural or otherwise.
2. the air or water of the house is clean or safe.
3. water will not seep into your basement after prolonged or heavy rains or spring thaw conditions.
4. water or snow will not get through your roofing or siding.
5. your house is safe and secure and cannot be readily broken into.
6. mechanical equipment will continue to operate even for 10 minutes after our inspection.
7. thermostats or timers will function properly, or across a range.
8. your house conforms to current or past codes, or government regulations.
9. heat exchangers in furnaces are intact or safe.
10. your heating and air conditioning equipment will keep you comfortable in all rooms under all weather conditions.
11. your foundation that is hidden behind finished walls is structurally sound.
12. insects are not actively infesting the house.
13. you won't experience ice damming when cold weather and snows occur.
14. fireplaces won't smoke, especially during windy weather.
15. rainwater won't migrate through masonry, stone, or other sidings.
16. moisture won't form around refrigerator gaskets in humid weather.
17. sealed refrigerant systems won't leak refrigerant, even this very day.
18. your water heater will supply all the hot water you would like.
19. repairs thought to be capable of being made, are economically feasible or available at a fair price.
20. repair people can be readily found or will be willing to guarantee their work, or will even provide fixed estimates.

You can be certain that ...

1. you will experience problems and headaches. Expect the unexpected.
2. you will find opinions that differ from ours.
3. you will have to spend money on problems or repairs not noted in our inspection.
4. if you do not act on the warnings given during the inspection you are probably accepting larger unseen risks.
5. if you don't inspect and maintain your roof you will probably get some leakage.
6. if you don't keep your gutters clean, downspouts extended, and maintain drainage away from your home you have a high chance of experiencing seepage into a crawl space or basement.
7. if you don't maintain grouting and caulking all around tubs and showers and their hardware and edges you will probably experience some leakage beneath bathrooms.
8. not removing hoses or draining hose bibs in cold weather areas may result in a freeze.
9. if you do not routinely maintain your drains you will probably experience some backing up of sink and tub drains.
10. if you don't clean your humidifier routinely, it won't work.
11. mechanical items will sometimes operate intermittently.
12. we cannot possibly approximate the utility usage of the house.
13. no matter what the weather, some less than perfect condition for Inspecting or reporting will exist.
14. weather changes are to be expected and that severe or unusual weather may cause damages or problems.
15. both major and minor problems can readily escape detection.
16. problems will generally not be found or suspected in the absence of symptoms, clues, or telltales.
17. symptoms, clues, or telltales can and often are effectively covered up.
18. not acting on repair recommendations to retaining walls may quickly see more extensive repairs needed.
19. smoke and CO alarms will not save lives if the batteries are dead.
20. failure to maintain and service well or septic systems will almost certainly result in a failure and increased expense.