BOUND BROOK, N.J, March 22 - This year marks the 25^th anniversary of HouseMaster, the oldest and most experienced home inspection franchise company in the United States and Canada.  As the role of home inspection has changed during the last quarter century, Kathleen Austin Kuhn, president and CEO of HouseMaster, reflects on its significant role in today's home buying process.

            Back in 1979, when HouseMaster sold its first franchise, having a home inspected by a professional was not the norm - only about two percent of homes were inspected prior to purchase.  "Twenty-five years ago, the home inspection was one of those ‘extra' things that only the most savvy of home buyers knew about. Typically, they were performed by someone whose day job was as a contractor, roofer or other tradesman, which may have led to a conflict of interest," explains Kuhn, whose franchises employ more than 500 professional inspectors who have performed more than 1.5 million home inspections since 1979.

            "Today, industry estimates show that almost 80 percent of home buyers take advantage of the option to have a pre-purchase home inspection and consumers are also much more careful in selecting their home inspector," adds Kuhn.

"Location, Location...Condition"

Since buying a home is likely to be the most expensive investment a person makes in a lifetime - and with today's home prices continuing to remain high in most areas, spending several hundred dollars on a professional home inspection can help ensure peace of mind that the buyer is getting a good, functioning property at a good value compared with other homes in the area, she explains.

While home inspections are still voluntary - even today, most lending companies do not require them - Kuhn is happy that consumers and realtors are taking advantage of the additional knowledge that the inspection arms them with.  "The mantra in real estate used to be ‘location, location, location,' but the neighborhood is not the only thing buyers consider now," she explains.  "For the high prices they are paying, buyers want to know what condition the home is in.  They want to take into consideration any costly repairs that may be needed or imminent within the next couple of years, so that they can budget accordingly or renegotiate the home's price, at the very least."  Today's mantra, she adds is "location, location...condition."

Inspections Not Just For Buyers

Inspect the Inspector

Celebrating 25 Years

            HouseMaster began as a regional inspection firm founded by Kenneth T. Austin in 1976.  After successfully building the firm into a tri-state organization, Austin launched HouseMaster in 1979 and began establishing the first-ever home inspection franchise company in the United States.  Austin was also one of the original founders of the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) and is credited as getting the home inspection industry off the ground.
            Since HouseMaster began franchising 25 years ago, the industry has grown rapidly.  However, the home inspection business, unlike the real estate industry, has largely remained without government regulation or set training requirements for inspectors.  Accordingly, technical training of inspectors varies greatly from company to company, as does the availability of ongoing education and support.  These factors are considered by those in the real estate industry to be the key issues in judging the quality of a home inspection company.
As both a leader and innovator in the inspection industry, HouseMaster offers its inspectors the most rigid training and certification program.  In addition to hands-on instruction, inspectors can attend classroom training at the National Institute of Building Inspectors' (NIBI) fully-equipped training center in Bound Brook, New Jersey.  All HouseMaster inspectors maintain professional liability insurance - including Errors and Omissions (E&O) - despite the fact that many of the national home inspection trade associations do not require it (NIBI Certification requires this type of insurance protection).

With years of experience behind them, HouseMaster offices offer the consumer more than just a cursory walk-through of a house.  The average inspection takes two to three hours to complete, with clients encouraged to come along.  A detailed, written inspection report is provided on site, as is additional assistance, including a complimentary Limited Inspection Guarantee (where permitted) and HouseMaster's interactive Home Buyer CD-Pak, which include a CD-ROM on common home repairs a homeowner can do and an illustrated guide to accompany the repair CD.
In addition, where people can learn more about home inspections, home ownership and home maintenance, as well as a complete directory of HouseMaster offices throughout the United States and Canada (380 franchises in North America).