Liability insurance for certified home inspectors is a given. Errors and Omissions, also called E&O, has a little more wiggle room. Some states don’t require it, but don’t be fooled. Every inspector needs it. With the wrong protection or no policy at all, your business and in some cases your personal assets may be at risk. Shop around for the best combination of rates plus coverage and keep these three points in mind.

There’s a lot of flexibility within the home inspection industry. One state requires a set number of pre-licensing education hours plus an exam and continuing education on top. Another state has no regulations to speak of. In states that don’t regulate home inspectors, it might be tempting to skip E&O insurance. It’s not exactly cheap, and what’s the worst that could happen?

All that it takes is one negligent act to ruin all of your hard work. If you miss a defect that puts the customer at a health, safety or financial risk, you could find yourself in court. Without insurance, you’ll be responsible for damages awarded by the court. With insurance, your policy will cover it in many cases.

E&O coverage can be broken down into two main categories: Occurrence and Claims Made. Occurrence policies offer the most protection. They’re also more expensive. Regardless of when an incident happens or when it’s reported, an Occurrence policy will pay the claim, as long as you had coverage when the incident happened.

Claims Made policies are stricter but also more affordable. David Brauner, Working RE magazine editor and senior broker at David Brauner Insurance Services says it causes a lot of confusion. Claims Made will only pay a claim if the policy was in effect at the time of the incident and you kept the policy in force until the claim was reported. Claims Made saves you money on premiums; Occurrence could save you money in the long run if an old claim pops up after the policy is no longer active.

One of the most frustrating and avoidable ways a certified home inspector can put their business at risk is by not reporting a claim or complaint. Sometimes, it’s deliberate but it can easily be an oversight. For example, if a customer mentions obliquely that they might sue, you should report it. If they don’t, you’re in the clear. But if they follow through with a claim, you’re covered.

Conversely, withholding information from your insurance provider is a dangerous game. While it’s true that in some cases a paid claim might result in higher rates, withholding information could end disastrously. If the customer follows through a year or longer down the road, your provider will want to know why the complaint wasn’t reported. Brauner says they’ll likely pay the claim and promptly cancel your policy. If you switch providers without disclosing prior complaints or claims, you could become a high risk insured with higher rates.

Finally, don’t forget to make your payments. That might seem like overstating the obvious, but policy cancellations happen every day for non-payment. With a Claims Made policy, which is generally more affordable, lapsed coverage leaves you with no protection.

Depending on the validity and severity of the claim, one month’s insurance premium could be the difference between going to work again the next day or defending yourself in court without the help of your insurance provider and shouldering the financial burden of a court award on your own.

Certified home inspectors have more ways now to protect themselves. Insurance is more sophisticated and so are the tools that you use on the job. A home inspection reporting app helps you provide clear evidence of all the different systems in every home you inspect without slowing down your progress. If your software is outdated or isn’t simple to use, maybe it’s time to try something better: Report Form Pro.

You had one job.

When a homeowner or an HVAC technician orders a furnace and installs it, they tend to expect that it was manufactured according to industry standards. It’s probably safe, functional and will serve its new owner for at least 15 years, depending on the model and how well it’s maintained.

Imagine, then, that several years down the line, a certified home inspector notices that something is just not right. It looks like a furnace, it’s installed like a furnace and it goes through its paces like a furnace. But it’s upside down.

That scenario is rare, but it’s documented. What’s the cause and what should the homeowner do? Read on.

The case of the upside-down furnace has nothing to do with poor installation. It isn’t really upside down, at least not on the inside. Between 1992 and 2000, the Carrier company had a furnace assembly problem.

It was probably easier to make this mistake than it sounds. According to the ASHI the theory is fairly simple.

During the manufacturing period in question, certain upflow and downflow furnaces made by Carrier had the same dimensions. That meant the housing components for one would fit the other by rearranging the order of the panels.

When the Cover is All Wrong, Nothing is All right

Louvered sections in a furnace housing are designed to let the burners breathe. The solid, airtight portion of the cover is designed to close off the blower cabinet. When they’re reversed, the furnace can’t perform like it should.

Experts say that in their experience, the first problem is “an extremely dirty system, since the blower cabinet pulls in unfiltered air.” A more dangerous problem is carbon monoxide. Another furnace they inspected with the same housing defect showed elevated levels of CO that increased when the blower was in operation. That’s not a benign problem; that’s a serious one.

Experts suggest that it all boiled down to cost savings for the Carrier company. They never intended for louvered sections to cover the blower and an airtight cabinet to cover the burners. But because the dimensions were identical, it was probably easy to make the mistake.

A furnace may appear to function normally even if the covers are installed upside down. The homeowner may have used it for years without realizing that there was a problem. Chances are, it wasn’t as efficient as it could have been when new. And as the years progressed, the additional strain of dirt buildup and poor ventilation likely reduced its efficiency much more quickly than another furnace with the same make and model. A history of repairs is likely. But it does make a home inspector wonder why no technician caught the problem before.

Fortunately, most Carrier furnaces built between 1992 and 2000 are fine. The easiest way to know if the one in front of you has a problem is to open it up and look inside. If the blower has a louvered cover, the homeowner has a problem.

Some people would move out before living another day in the same house once mold is discovered. And some people grab a bottle of bleach to hopefully render it harmless. Certain molds can make homeowners sick, but there are millions of species. Only a few of them are dangerous. The ones that are can cause serious health problems.

Sometimes, mold and mildew are difficult to differentiate to the untrained eye. They can both leave dark specks and clusters on walls, in showers and areas where dampness is a problem. They can both leave a musty odor. But mildew isn’t as harmful as mold. And mold comes in scores of varieties.

Moldpedia says one of the first signs of mold is the telltale musty odor. Even you can’t see it, it’s probably there inside walls or under the floor. If you can smell it, you’re breathing it. Mold may be black, brown, purple, yellow, green or an assortment of colors.

By now, most people in America have heard about the dangers of Toxic Black Mold also known as Stachybotrys. It can cause severe health problems and sometimes death. But not so fast. Not every mold that’s black is considered toxic. And toxic black mold is more greenish black in color. Further, the mold might not be toxic at all.

According to Atlantic Environmental Incorporated, it’s not the mold by the mycotoxins that black mold can produce that can weaken, sicken and even kill.

There’s a reason you’ve never seen mold on a dry surface that’s always been dry. Mold requires moisture to grow and reproduce. That’s why it tends to thrive in bathrooms, kitchens and other areas where there’s moisture and some warmth.

Mold might live in these and any other area where dampness is chronic or it has been in the past.

Because of the enormous range of molds in America, mold testing is the only way to know what a homeowner has. There are consumer-grade kits that test by contact, and more in-depth testing performed by a lab using samples from inside the home.

The best way to handle mold is prevention, says the EPA, which means eliminating the most important element: moisture. Repair pipe leaks or a leaky roof, improve ventilation and remove old, damp materials such as carpeting, insulation or wallboard that has taken on water. The EPA says more than 10 square feet of mold should be referred to professional for cleanup. It there’s less than that, homeowners can follow these steps:

As for using chlorine bleach, it’s anyone’s guess. Historically, bleach has been used for both mold and mildew cleanup because the dark color lightens and sometimes vanishes. The odor is usually eliminated too, at least for a while. But many experts say bleach doesn’t get to the root of the problem so mold always comes back. The National Organization of Remediators and Mold Inspectors says bleach is mostly useless. The best course of action is scrubbing and drying, just like the EPA says.

The presence of mold in a home doesn’t automatically mean the homeowner or prospective buyer is at risk. The bigger concern is what’s causing it. Actual toxic black mold is rare. If the homeowner eliminates damp conditions, they’ll prevent new mold growth. Then cleanup can finally work for good instead of becoming a cycle of rubber gloves, bleach and old rags.

As a certified home inspector, chances are you’ll see more than your fair share of molds, mildews and other not-so-pleasant things that thrive in damp conditions. All of it goes into your home inspection report, which could be the easiest part of your job, by far.

Home buyers might think they know what they’re getting into with a short sale. But property that’s headed into foreclosure may have numerous problems. It’s a bargain. Maybe it’s even a steal. But foreclosures often have several strikes against them. As a certified home inspector, you can help temper customer enthusiasm with facts so they can make a better-informed buying decision.

Here’s why you should market your talent to every buyer who’s thinking about picking up real estate on the cheap.

It sounds like a rotten thing to do, and it is. But when faced with losing their home, some homeowners take it out on the property in the hopes of making the lender suffer. Unfortunately, a short sale buyer might reap more of what they sowed than the lender will ever know existed.

Lawyers.com  explains that intentional damage is a common problem. Homeowners may destroy the house, damage fixtures or remove fixtures entirely. That includes anything from cabinets to HVAC units, and especially anything of value that can be sold.

According to Zillow, some damage is difficult to spot. Without a certified home inspector, buyers may not know until it’s too late that the previous owner poured concrete down the drains or left meat to spoil in the attic.

Not every homeowner in dire financial straits has a grudge against the lender and new owner. Some, probably many, don’t have the means to tackle regular maintenance and routine repairs. As a result, a short sale house might have numerous lurking issues that need attention right away.

Buyers who are excited about buying a cheap house might not worry about the roof, especially if the interior doesn’t show signs of a major leak. But in a year or two, that might change. A roof inspection can point out home systems that are teetering on the edge of major repairs.

That’s true for any of the major systems in a home. If the HVAC system conks out, the buyer will be stuck with replacement or repairs. Appliances aren’t cheap if they’re past their prime, and neither is a structural rot repair caused by inferior or non-existent gutters.

Short sales are an option before foreclosure happens in earnest. In many cases, a short sale home will be occupied by the owner when it hits the market. But that’s not universally true. If the owner has moved out, someone or something else might have moved in.

Vacant homes are vandalism targets. Teenagers may break in and throw parties, which happened recently in Las Vegas.  Or a squatter might move in and stay.

Vacant houses may also have a pest problem. If a window is broken, that’s an access point for birds, squirrels, raccoons and many other critters. Where there are pests, there are health hazards plus extermination and removal costs to think about.

A short sale house is often a terrific bargain for buyers. They help everyone involved. The homeowner avoids foreclosure, which saves their credit. The lender isn’t saddled with a non-paying owner and property to put on the market. And the buyer gets a house that might be worth a lot more than the asking price.

It’s an all-around win as long as buyers know what they’re getting into. With the help of a certified home inspector, buyers can go into a short-sale purchase knowing exactly what they’re paying for.

No matter how many articles and blog posts are written about the importance of a buyer’s home inspection, too many people still opt out. Sometimes, they regret it. In hot markets, competition for real estate is so high that an inspection can seem like a surefire way to lose out to another bidder. And sometimes, the buyer simply doesn’t want to spend the additional money.

As a certified home inspector, you have the power to educate the public. It’s not just a marketing tool for your business. It’s an opportunity to help buyers, sellers, and agents who might be on the fence understand the real benefits of getting an inspection and the risks of skipping it.

Here are a few ways that you can help make a difference.

It’s difficult for any business to keep up with the competition without a website. It’s not just a way to help customers find you and set up an appointment. It’s also a dedicated platform for educating the buying public, or at least it can be. Website Builder Expert says you don’t even need a designer as long as the site looks good.

Social media has grown far beyond a meeting spot for socializing with friends. With so many marketing tools, you can use it to promote your business and educate your followers about the importance of a home inspection.

Here are just a few ideas:

Newspapers are still around. Some local papers are digital-only now and some only have a weekly print edition, but they could give you a platform to talk about home inspections.

If you can’t find a spot as a regular columnist, think about writing as a guest columnist. You might also contact reporters about giving an interview on emerging or seasonal home inspection issues that home buyers and homeowners should know about.

Lunch-and-learn events with real estate agents are the bread and butter of home inspection referrals. If you pop in to drop off business cards and head back out the door, you’re missing an important opportunity to educate agents about your business and about home defects that affect their clients.

Just because agents deal in real estate doesn’t mean they know the ins and outs of defects. Think of them sort of like vehicle dealers. A person who sells you a car doesn’t necessarily know how it was built or how to diagnose mechanical defects. With a lunch-and-learn, you can arm them with more knowledge, which benefits them and their customers.

The importance of a home inspection can’t be overstated. In some instances, the buyer might not regret opting out. But even a new-construction home can have defects that make it a poor investment. Knowledge helps buyers make better choices. Education about the home inspection industry helps them understand how important that knowledge really is.