The Complete Book of Home Inspection

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Summary: The Home Inspector's Bible
Review: I have been a professional home inspector for over 30 years. In the early days of home inspections, the "Complete Book of Home Inspection" was considered the "Bible" of the industry. Now, after over 20 years in publication, with the updated chapters and the new sections on mold and pools, nothing has changed. The beginning home inspector can still depend on this book as a dependable single reference source. It should also be extremely useful for the first time homebuyer in the preliminary stages of home selection, but should not be used in place of a professional home inspection.

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Summary: Great book for inspectors!
Review: I've been a builder for over twenty years and this books has been a good refresher handbook and a book with helpfull knowledge. I'm also takeing a class in home inspection and this book helps me pass the test.

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Summary: Good Info
Review: If you are buying a house for yourself, you need to get a professional inspection no matter what. This book will give you understanding of what an inspector looks for. This book is very useful if you are in rehab business and want to get an idea of the extent of work needed to be done prior to committing yourself to a professional inspection.

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Summary: This book did not teach me anything I didn't already know
Review: If you are looking for a book that will teach you a lot about real estate and home inspections then this is not the book for you. The chapter information and text content of this book was very basic and did not teach me anything I didn't already learn from other books that were much better. Inspecting homes is something I have done for many years and I would not recommend this book to any customers or contractors. If you know absolutely nothing about real estate then you might learn a few things but not too much.

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Summary: An excellent book for someone buying a home.
Review: Most books of this type are written by people with little understanding of the engineering involved in pre-purchase home inspections. I am a Licensed Professional Engineer involved in pre-purchase home inspections, and have seen many similar books with inaccurate information. This book is written by a Licensed Professional Engineer. For anyone purchasing a home and desiring accurate information, this book is highly recommended!!

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Summary: Information on shaky ground
Review: Some information in this book is good, however much appears on "shaky" ground. A few items are not accurate. I regret purchasing the book.

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Summary: Best Book On The Subject
Review: The Complete Book of Home Inspection is by far one of the best books on the subject. It is written in a very simple, but informative style. This book is not only meant for new home inspectors, or first time home buyers, but for experienced inspectors as well. The content in this book will serve as a source of information for anyone who needs to understand how a particular system works, or how to recognize a minor, or major problem. The many graphic illustrations are very helpful to fully understand what the problems actually look like. This book is a must to have.

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Summary: Negative review - too basic and not too helpful
Review: The only time I would write a negative review if I think a book has been over rated. This book is definitely over rated. My husband and I are real estate investors and continually read books to improve our profits. We both felt this book was too basic and we did not get helpful information. We go to monthly meetings for investors in our county and this is one of the books on the "don't buy" list on our bulletin board!

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Summary: Lacking a lot for home inspectors
Review: There are a lot of areas that home inspectors need to know that are not mentioned. If you know nothing about inspections then you could learn a few pointers from this book. If you have some knowledge already then there are other books that would be a much better choice than this one. Some areas in the book were wrong. I would read the other books in this field before buying this one.

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Summary: I've read much better inspection books than this one.
Review: There are a lot of books about home inspectors and the inspection process that I have read and are much better than this book. ASHI has books that tell a lot more details and cover all the topics left out by this book. I am an ASHI certified home inspector so I am experienced in this field and know when I'm reading a good book on the subject. This book does not tell the whole story needed for a professional inspector and appears to be written for a beginner who only wants a basic understanding on home inspections and inspectors.
I've been an ASHI home inspector for many years and wouldn't recommend this book to any of inspectors in my state. Shop around and you'll find much better reading to be informed.