Agreement with Home Inspector
Agreement made on the (date), between (Name of Client) of (street address, city,
county, state, zip code), referred to herein as Client, and (Name of Home
Inspector), a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of
(name of state), with its principal office located at (street address, city, county,
state, zip code), referred to herein as Inspector.
Whereas, Inspector is a licensed (or certified) home inspector in the State of
(e.g., state where property located); and
Whereas Client desires to hire and retain Inspector to inspect Client’s house
located at (street address, city, county, state, zip code), hereinafter called House;
Now, therefore, for and in consideration of the mutual covenants contained in
this agreement, and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and
sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties agree as follows:
I. Said inspection shall be a general, visual inspection of House and its
appurtenances, and will cover inspection of the major systems of the house such
as: structural, plumbing, electric, heating and cooling, general interior, insulation,
ventilation, siding, windows, doors, roofs and attached any attached garages. A
wood destroying organism report (sometimes called a pest and dry rot) shall not
be included, nor will any inspection be made of septic systems, wells,
underground piping, swimming pools and other items that are not considered part
of the main structure of House.
II. The resulting inspection report (Report) from Inspector to Client shall be
an educated opinion, and not a guarantee or any sort of warranty from Inspector
to Client or any assignee or other third party who may rely on Report. Report
does not guarantee that House is sound or that Client or his successors in title
will never encounter any problems with House in the future. Some deficiencies
can only be found by tearing apart the structure, which Inspector shall not do.
Inspector shall not move furniture, rugs or other obstacles or inspect areas which
are inaccessible (e.g., wall interiors, wet crawl spaces, steep or wet roofs, etc.).
III. Inspector shall perform a visual inspection of the House and provide Client
with a written inspection report (Report) identifying the defects that Inspector both
observed and deemed material. Inspector may offer other comments as a
courtesy, but these comments will not comprise the Report.
IV. Unless otherwise inconsistent with this Agreement or not possible,
Inspector agrees to perform the inspection in accordance to the current
Standards of Practice of the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors.
Client understands that these standards contain certain limitations, exceptions,
and exclusions. Unless otherwise indicated below, Client understands that
Inspector shall not be testing for the presence of Radon, a colorless, odorless,
radioactive gas that may be harmful to humans.
V. The inspection and the resulting Report is being performed and prepared
for the use of Client, who hereby gives Inspector permission to discuss
observations with real estate agents, purchasers, repairmen, and other interested
parties. Inspector accepts no responsibility for use or misinterpretation by third
parties. Inspector’s inspection of House and the accompanying Report are in no
way intended to be a guarantee or warranty, express or implied, regarding the
future use, operability, habitability or suitability of the House or its components.
Any and all warranties, express or implied, including warranties of
merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, are expressly disclaimed and
excluded by this Agreement to the fullest extent allowed by the law of (Name of
State). If any structure or portion of any structure that is to be inspected pursuant
to this Agreement, is a log home, log structure or similar log construction, Client
understands that such structures have unique characteristics that make it
impossible for an inspector to inspect and evaluate them by an exterior visual
inspection. Therefore, the scope of the inspection to be performed pursuant to
this Agreement does not include decay of the interior of logs in log walls, log
foundations or roofs or similar defects that are not visible by an exterior visual
inspection.
VI. Also excluded from inspection and Report is any inspection of any
systems or items not specifically included in the Report including but not limited
to the following: any information pertaining to any manufacturer’s recall of any
components, fences, detached buildings or equipment, the presence of insects or
other pests, low voltage systems, furnace heat exchangers, fireplace inserts,
swimming pools, saunas, spas, whirlpool and hot tub systems, septic systems
and cisterns, ponds, fountains, private underground, water volume and quality,
passive and active solar systems, lightning arrest systems, fire sprinkler systems,
irrigation or water conditioning systems, any component or system which is
underground, audi