The link below is to an interesting article I ran across from The Daily Courier, a newspaper and information source in the Prescott, Arizona area. The author, Randy West, is a Home Inspector in the local area.
http://dcourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=74&SubSectionID=114&ArticleID=148182
So how long should it take for a good home inspector to perform a proper Home Inspection? The short answer is 2 to 4 hours, with an average of about 3. At least that is a common amount of time in the Washington. DC area. Your results may vary based on many factors, not limited to the state you are in.
http://dcourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=74&SubSectionID=114&ArticleID=148182
So how long should it take for a good home inspector to perform a proper Home Inspection? The short answer is 2 to 4 hours, with an average of about 3. At least that is a common amount of time in the Washington. DC area. Your results may vary based on many factors, not limited to the state you are in.
Several factors have to be taken into account if you want to guestimate how long you think the Home Inspector is going to be in the home. First, many Home Inspectors now price the home inspection based on a number of factors, generally including, the age, the square footage, the foundation type, the number of floors, and the sales price. This is just for a single structure inspection. Additional inspections (Radon, mold, pool, spa, irrigation systems, outbuildings, wood destroying insects (WDI), and wind shear), are all priced separately and performed separately , unless required by your state licensing regulations (i.e. Texas, Florida...)
So other than the size of the home, the age of the home plays a big part in the length of the inspection. While older homes genearally have more systems and items that are aged and can be problem issues, new homes can be even more lengthy to inspect since the multitude of contractor specialists who built the home may have trampled the previous contractor's work product. On average, our new home inspections take 4 hours (for 3,000 - 4,000 square feet) and the punch list ends up being pretty large.
State requirements play a part in the length of a Home Inspection. While some states do not license (DC & Virginia), Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Florida, Texas...each have set of standards that a Home Inspector must follow to comply with a "proper" Home Inspection. This, in many cases adds to the length of a home inspection.
And then there is the personality of the inspector and the clients. Some may get into long conversations about many of the systems and items in the home, while other inspectors are much less talkative.
While gone are the days of the 45 minute Home Inspection (although we still see some - including the one performed on the home I just sold), plan on having the home inspector in the home for a good 2-3 hours.
So other than the size of the home, the age of the home plays a big part in the length of the inspection. While older homes genearally have more systems and items that are aged and can be problem issues, new homes can be even more lengthy to inspect since the multitude of contractor specialists who built the home may have trampled the previous contractor's work product. On average, our new home inspections take 4 hours (for 3,000 - 4,000 square feet) and the punch list ends up being pretty large.
State requirements play a part in the length of a Home Inspection. While some states do not license (DC & Virginia), Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Florida, Texas...each have set of standards that a Home Inspector must follow to comply with a "proper" Home Inspection. This, in many cases adds to the length of a home inspection.
And then there is the personality of the inspector and the clients. Some may get into long conversations about many of the systems and items in the home, while other inspectors are much less talkative.
While gone are the days of the 45 minute Home Inspection (although we still see some - including the one performed on the home I just sold), plan on having the home inspector in the home for a good 2-3 hours.