exceeding SOP

Home Inspections: When is exceeding the SOP going too far?

by jfarsetta on Sep 21, 2009

“I exceed the Standard of Practice”. Many inspectors make this statement all the time. Many put it in their brochures and on their website. But, what exactly do they mean? What measure can anyone apply, with any degree of certainty, to gauge what can be expected of an inspector who “exceeds the standard of practice”?   I suppose it can mean that whatever the SOP dictates is a minimum inspection standard is enhanced. Okay, I’ll buy that. But, now comes the next logical question: is everything in the SOP exceeded, or only certain things and how far will the inspector go beyond the minimum? Am I guaranteed that what the inspector did on his last two inspections will also be done on mine? How can one guarantee that the inspector exceeds the SOP in all cases, uniformly, and on every property?   The problem is that you can’t. A Standard of Practice is called a Standard of Practice for a reason; it creates a standard. Once that standard is...Read More >>