Your question is a tough one. Who do you trust: someone you found on the internet, or the person that you've hired to guide you through the process? I'm not going to be able to give you a definitive answer, but let me offer a few points to consider:

Who is best positioned to know who the good inspectors are? The obvious answer to that question is real estate agents. They are the professionals who are present at multiple inspections observing multiple inspectors. Not only do they observe inspections, but they also work with inspectors in follow up situations. They know who the professionals are. They know the market. They have established relationships with inspectors. The question is; what do they consider to be the qualifications of a good inspector?

Real estate agents have a number of potential conflicts of interest with respect to the recommendation of specific inspectors.

The most obvious conflict of interest is related to the agent’s concern that the inspector might find something wrong or deliver information in a way that might influence the buyer toward a decision not to go through with the purchase. Because the agent’s commission is directly related to the sale, an agent might be inclined to recommend an inspector who is less likely to point out the big problems or to be completely candid with the information or its relevance.

This particular concern is balanced though, by the agent’s competing concern – that something might go wrong after settlement. In most cases, real estate professionals are dependent on repeat business and referrals for their incomes. They nurture past clients for years in hopes that they will get the listing and the sale when a given client moves. They farm small communities - often communities in which they themselves live. Word does get around. The most successful agents I know, are over sixty years old, with over thirty years of experience, who do most of their work within a couple of miles of home and spend almost nothing on marketing. They can’t afford for the word to get out that they recommend fly-by-night inspectors who candy-coat their findings.

There’s the quid-pro-quo (this for that). Some of the larger firms and franchises have discovered that the best investment of their marketing dollar is advertising through brokerage channels – brochures, magazines, sales meetings and websites. In some cases, they pay money for these opportunities. In some cases they enter into preferred provider relationships – sometimes exclusive provider relationships. In these cases, a recommendation from a real estate agent is, in effect, a paid ad. The federal RESPA law addresses this. It is my understanding that, as long as the fee paid is directly related to advertising actually provided at market price; this practice is allowed under the statute. The state certification law and the ASHI Code of Ethics however, take different positions.

So what are your alternatives?

You could ask friends, coworkers, colleagues, neighbors, and family members who recently bought houses if they were happy with their inspectors. This sounds good, until you consider the knowledge base of your sources. In each case, you’re talking to a particular person who had a particular experience. Her frame of reference is one inspector at one inspection – not a very diverse sample.

You could ask the agent for the criteria used to evaluate the recommended inspector.