Home inspector basics: You won't need a home inspector often, but when you do - before purchasing a home, for instance, or applying for refinancing - you'll be glad to have an experienced professional who can ask all the right questions and check all the hidden structural elements. Here are some tips to keep in mind so you can find the right inspector for your needs.

A qualified house inspector is the surest way to discover a house's not-so-obvious problems. Most professional inspectors are from a construction background, such as engineering, architecture or contracting. Their responsibility is to crawl beneath the floors, squeeze through the attic and generally comb the house's structure and mechanical systems for shortcomings.

They give the buyer a complete report; with it, the buyer can decide whether or not the house is a good deal, or at least put together a "punch list" of items that must be fixed (it isn't unusual for this report to contain about 50 items).

You're usually welcome to accompany the inspector during the inspection; doing so lets you discuss specifics and ask questions about the severity of some concerns. On the other hand, you probably won't want to crawl under the floors with him or her, so it's important to get one you can trust.

Buying and refinancing: When you're buying a home or refinancing your home, the mortgage company will request (and generally pay for) a professional home inspection. Be sure to let your inspector know about any particular problems you want inspected. Then he or she will be able to better assess your home's condition.

If you know about pest control problems, for instance, the inspector will know to look at points of entry or areas of contamination.

If you want to find out about radon gas in your home, the inspector will know to watch for tell-tale signs of cracks in your foundation.

If you know about any hazardous material (or want to find out whether you have any), let the inspector know about your concerns, especially the possibility of lead paint or asbestos.

Features: Does the home have any special features? If a home inspector knows about specific systems (pool, well, septic, security, water softening, fire sprinklers, solar heating) in your home before doing an inspection, he or she can better check those systems and how they're working in relation to the rest of your home.

-- Tips courtesy of HomeAdvisor.com