ELITE HOME INSPECTION SERVICES
Washington State Law defines the Education Requirements, Licensing, and Standards of Practice (SOP) for home inspectors: Chapter 308-408C WAC
The SOP defines what a home inspection is, what is included and excluded. Inspectors must perform all inspections in compliance with the SOP. We always meet or exceed the SOP in our services.
Some important points from the WA SOP:
What is a home inspection?
“The purpose of a home inspection is to assess the condition of the residence at the time of the inspection using visual observations, simple tools and normal homeowner operational controls; and to report deficiencies of specific systems and components.”
“A home inspection is not technically exhaustive and does not identify concealed conditions or latent defects.”
What’s not included?
The inspector is not required to:
“Determine the condition of any system or component that is not readily accessible; the remaining service life of any system or component; the strength, adequacy, effectiveness or efficiency of any system or component; causes of any condition or deficiency; methods, materials, or cost of corrections; future conditions including, but not limited to, failure of systems and components.”
“Report the presence of potentially hazardous plants or animals including, but not limited to, wood destroying insects or diseases harmful to humans; the presence of any environmental hazards including, but not limited to mold, toxins, carcinogens, noise, and contaminants in soil, water or air; the effectiveness of any system installed or methods utilized to control or remove suspected hazardous substances.”
The inspection “does not include investigation of mold, asbestos, lead paint, water, soil, air quality or other environmental issues”
More details can be found in Chapter 308-408C WAC and in our pre-inspection Agreement.