Home Inspections - what do you look for in a home inspector?

We all know the value of home inspections, but is there intrinsic value in the home inspector himself? Everybody knows that experience is important, as is certification, but isn't a great portion of the real value of a home inspection the way that a home inspector handles himself in explaining issues that arise during the inspection process? I think a home inspector can make all the difference in the world as to how the buyer actually hears what the problem is and the extent of its seriousness.

Last Saturday I had an inspection during the inspection a significant structural issue arose. What first came to my mind was I'm glad that John is the one doing this inspection. John is likeable, can explain issues to the buyer without emotion, and will recommend possible solutions or ways to follow up. In my 25 years of experience, I've had the fortune of being at inspections with good inspectors and bad ones. Even some of the really good inspectors can't really communicate a problem without a great deal of their own personal opinion or emotion.

The structural problem in this case was with a deck/screened in porch being attached to the house improperly. That in and of itself sounds like "quite a serious problem", which could be of great concern to the buyer. In this case, John explained in detail how it could be rectified and the approximate cost of repair. He did this all in a manner which was very professional and without personal emotion or bias. So what seemed to have been a big issue, and I guess it could be in some people's eyes, left the buyer feeling confident that he had an inspector who was not only very thorough, but who also gave him the sense that he understood what was being said, knew what steps to take next, and he was not sidetracked by agreeing with what the home inspector might believe personally about how the problem might have happened.

Lots of times buyer's guards go up because they pick up on the home inspectors overreaction to a situation. I think this is just one of many differences that gets overlooked when Realtors and buyers choose home inspectors. Tell me your thoughts about good interactions with your home inspectors.