The Walk-Through Is the Product: What to Ask Before You Book a Home Safety Visit

A home safety visit can be useful, and it can also be a long walk through the house that ends in a folder of suggestions nobody can carry out. The visit is worth booking only when you know what it should produce. Ask these questions first, and compare two answers before you choose.

Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.

Who walks the house

Ask who will come into the house and what training or license they hold for this kind of visit. Ask whether that person writes the report or whether someone else does. Ask how long the visit usually takes and whether she can be in the room for the walk. You want her to see the house being checked, not only to hear about it afterward.

What the report must include

Ask for a written sample before you book. A useful report names each room, records what was measured, notes the width of doors and hallways where it matters, describes the floor surfaces, and separates problems in the house from problems in how she moves through it. It should also say clearly what the person saw and what they only recommend. If the sample is a list of general tips, the visit will not help you much.

Fix, recommend, or both

Ask whether the person will fix anything, will only recommend, or will hand you a list to give to a contractor. Ask whether they will sign a page listing what they looked at and what they did not look at. Ask what happens if they find a hazard they cannot fix, and whether the report will say so plainly. A visit that only recommends can still be useful, but you need to know which kind you are buying before the walk begins.

Fee, timing, and cancellation

Ask whether there is a fee for the visit, whether it is credited if you hire the same company for the work, and when the fee is due. Ask how far ahead you can cancel and what a late cancellation costs. Ask how long the written report takes to arrive. Get these answers in writing, not only on the phone.

Compare two answers

If you can, book two visits and walk the same rooms with each person. Ask both to look at the bathroom entry, the bed space, the path to the kitchen, and the step or stairs into the house. Put the two reports side by side. The report that names each problem in plain words and says who should fix it is usually the one to keep.

If you need help finding who to call first, the local help page is a place to start.