​If a home inspection is performed on your property and something on the property is damaged as a result of the inspection process, should the home inspector be held responsible? While you may assume that the answer to that question is an obvious yes, let us look at the reasons why the home inspector may not be to blame.
 
Think about the reason why a home inspection is carried out, it is to discover the condition of a property. Very often a home inspector will be accessing parts of the home that are almost never accessed by the homeowners themselves. These areas may very well have fallen into disrepair and started to decay.  This means that the first person to discover the problem will be the home inspector. As an example, imagine some attic flooring has started rotting and when the home inspector steps on it, it breaks apart, could we say that this is the fault of the home inspector? No, they were not being too clumsy, rather they were just doing their job. In fact, the same thing would happen to anyone stepping on it.
 
This example highlights the fact that, while rare, sometimes damage can result from a home inspection. We must also mention, however, that we are not talking about the occasional accident that may result in damage to a household item like a vase or mirror, etc. we are talking about damage caused as a direct result of the home inspection.
 
No home inspector wants a home inspection to result in damage to the property, but if it does happen, we cannot automatically assume the inspector was being careless, they were probably just doing their job.

​Have you ever thought about whether your home would be an easy target for a thief? It’s a good idea to consider this question because there are many things you can do to your home to make it much less appealing to someone wishing to break in. Here are a few of the ways to do it:
 
A burglar will look for a home that appears easy to break into and one that can be entered without being seen by neighbors or onlookers. Do you have trees and shrubs planted around the windows and doors of your home? These will provide the ideal place for someone to hide while breaking in so you may want to reconsider your properties landscaping. You may also decide to place fencing around your property and, while this is a good option, just make sure it does not offer extra places to hide from view.
 
Are your windows and doors in good condition? They should be good quality, have a solid construction, and be well maintained. All exterior doors should be fitted with deadbolt locks. If you are looking to increase security on your windows, you may want to consider installing window bars or heavy-duty wire screens.  Just remember, though, that these can become dangerous in an emergency so the occupants of the home would need to have a way of exiting the home quickly and safely.
 
If there are sliding doors in your home, check that there are working locks on both the top and bottom of each door. As an extra measure, place a cut off broom handle or similar sized piece of wood inside the door tracks which will prevent it from opening.
 
Lighting is another effective security measure. Place motion sensor lighting on each side of your home that will turn on when they detect movement. You may also want to leave some lights on in the home when you are away.