Information is the lifeblood of every creature. Most of the time, the more information we have, the better off we are. As an inspector, as a home buyer, as a human being in general, the more we know about a situation, the more successful we’ll be. We’re better prepared to face the experiences of the day when we know what’s coming. The challenging part is that it’s difficult to know ahead of time what each new situation will bring.
As we go through each day, there are an unlimited number of possible experiences on offer; more things could happen to us than we could ever imagine. When we perform a home inspection, these same rules apply: there are an almost infinite number of things that could go wrong with the systems and components of that house. Each new inspection job is a new experience, so obviously we’d like to have as much information as possible about each situation in order to achieve success. The more we know about our job, the better off everyone is going to be.
That doesn’t mean, however, that we’re going to be able to predict the future; there are just too many variables involved. We can offer advice (we recommend that you have that further evaluated… ) and provide the relevant facts (the average life expectancy of an electric water heater is 8-12 years… ), but we can’t tell you exactly what’s going to happen. We don’t know if something is going to break in the next decade or three minutes after we walk out the door. A house, just like life, is unpredictable. There’s not too much more we can do about that part.
We can, however, as professional inspectors, provide our clients with enough information to help reduce the uncertainty that comes along with buying a house. Reducing uncertainty is a wonderful thing, as it lessens our clients’ stress levels and increases the possibility that our actions (providing a home inspection report) will prove successful.
If a new homeowner is aware of the fact that their “new” house has a 21-year-old, four-ton central air conditioning unit, and we’ve educated them (provided information) of the fact that the average life expectancy for an AC in south Louisiana is 12 to 15 years, then they won’t be surprised when they need a new one in the near future. We’ve provided them with this knowledge ahead of time, allowing them to plan and/or negotiate accordingly. We’ve helped them reduce the number of unknows in their home purchase decision. We’ve helped reduce uncertainty.
The reduction of uncertainty happens through information. The more information we have, the better our chances of making good decisions.
And that’s what we’re here for, really.
To provide information.
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Thanks, Joe
