Why pay for an inspection when remediation companies offer it for 'free'?

why pay for a mold inspection

​On occasion, clients will be swayed by remediation companies that offer a "free" inspection, rather than opting for an impartial inspection company that does not endeavor to do remediation. No business can sustain itself on doing free work, so the question then arises: "why is the inspection free?". 

Often, remediation companies that offer such a service are essentially creating work for themselves by committing to an inspection and magnifying problems that are either very small to begin with, or not even there at all; this then creates a large job for them, which can end up costing the client a lot more money.

The remediation team essentially becomes its own client-which gets to determine how much work they receive. 

With a company that solely offers inspections, objective observation, 3rd party lab testing and reporting, there is no motive to embellish, fabricate or lie about the findings since there isn't any future work in it for the inspection company. An inspection company may just find a benign, non-threatening mold such as a Lumberyard mold and then advise that the homeowner does not need to take any action.

Furthermore, the inspection company may find active mold, such as Aspergillum, but the spore counts may be so low and the air samples so clean, that no further action is required; whereas a remediation firm offering 'free' inspections may determine that remediation needs to be done to 'be on the safe side', when it really isn't necessary. 

Always be cautious of any company offering free services because there will always be a stipulation, especially when it comes to the housing market and mold.