Upon Closer Inspection . . .

With the Right Person to Spot A Home's Flaws, You May Avert a Disastrous Deal

Inspector Phillip Carls prepares to look at the upper reaches of the house Sheila Hopes, in garage, plans to buy in Bowie. He found four pages' worth of problems. (Photos By Marvin Joseph -- The Washington Post)

Phillip Carls, a home inspector, shimmies up the aluminum ladder and scales the roof, checking gutters and shingles and craftsmanship. Beads of perspiration roll down his forehead, and his exposed legs are full of fresh scrapes.

In no time, he's inside the empty, newly built house in Bowie, flipping light switches, opening and shutting doors, peeking underneath a sunken tub with a mirror, examining the electrical wiring in the dishwasher, climbing into a 98-degree attic.

After four hours, the flaw-hunter-for-hire comes up with four legal-size pages of problems, some minor -- construction debris in gutters -- and some pretty major: no support beneath the tub, inadequate attic insulation, roof problems that could cause a leak.

"I am shocked, I really am," says buyer Sheila Hopes, a lawyer, as she surveys the list during the final inspection a week before she's scheduled to sign for her $900,000 house. "If those things had gone unnoticed, it would have far exceeded $20,000" to repair.

Simply put: Picking the inspector can make or break you.

To that end, industry experts say, a Maryland law -- the first in the Washington region -- will benefit consumers by requiring that all home inspectors be licensed by Jan. 1.

The District requires no license. In Virginia, inspectors can opt for voluntary certification. In Maryland, out-of-state inspectors will need a Maryland license to work in the state.

"It will have an impact on the state of Maryland and the contiguous states," said Elwood A. Mosley, executive director of the Maryland Commission of Real Estate Appraisers and Home Inspectors. "It will protect the consumers by having minimum standards of practice."

Still, some industry experts fear that consumers may pick inspectors simply because they have licenses and overlook other key considerations.

"The license is the minimum set of standards, and people figure we're all licensed, we must be the same," said Frank Lesh, president of the American Society of Home Inspectors, which has about 6,000 members. "What happens is consumers get a false sense of security."

So what is it, then, that consumers should look for?

According to inspectors and real estate agents, inspectors should, ideally, belong to a nationally recognized association that calls for testing and a code of stringent standards and ethics, have a background in the building industry, have experience as an inspector, meet any licensing requirements, and come highly recommended by a friend or real estate agent.