As the name suggests, it is a person with reasonable experience and facility to check the present conditions of various components of a house. The Inspector will have a sound knowledge of the building materials used in any house and capable of a systematic verification of the soundness of the various items like, beam, terrace, wall etc of the structure, the piping arrangements including the conditions of plumbing, material used for fixing, taps, etc. Electrical installations including equipment installed for house hold use. Air Conditioners, Ventilators, Fans, Heaters, Geysers, etc are examples.

A thorough examination of the potential of a home that requires attentions is the primary duty of a Home Inspector. He is not an appraiser and should not be confused to be a person capable of furnishing the cost of the home.  He is only a person who deals with the physical condition of the house from various angles and checks for limits of safety.  It should be understood, that any report by a home inspector, is only depicting the current condition of the home and the visualization of how it could be in the past. The specialty of examination or inspection is to bring out the real condition of the above mentioned items and to envisage whether there is any immediate necessity for a rectification course.

In many countries it is a prerogative to put the property for a thorough check up by a Home Inspector, as without a report of a Home inspector, no contract and agreement for taking over a building could be possible.

Now we come to the competence of a Home Inspectoor. There are many courses of studies to become a Home inspector and normally it covers the subjects of Building Materials, their quality, etc. These coursers of studies are offered in many universities and anyone who has undergone the course will be holding a diploma and competence certificate. In addition, to the qualification, an affiliation with an organization certifying the proficiency of the person, is also needed to practice as a Home Inspector