Any professional inspection firm will have an agreement for you to read and sign. This agreement will spell out the company's capabilities and their limitations, Do not assume you know what the inspector can do for you based on what you hope or want him to do for you. There are limitations. Inspectors are there to limit your risk in the purchase of a home. However, they cannot eliminate that risk. Keep in mind that the inspection is limited to what can be visually observed at the time of the inspection. Generally, their function is to observe and evaluate the major systems of the home and report to you the condition they observe that exist on the day of the inspection. When problems are found, the inspector will either offer recommendations of how to repair or recommend you get further evaluation by someone who specializes in that field. An inspector cannot predict the condition of a system five years from now, or even what broke; a furnace working the day of the inspection may develop a problem between then and the date you move in. There are also limitations to the depth of evaluation a home inspector can perform. There are components to systems that are not visible without dismantling the system. Home inspectors do not perform this kind of testing. The inspector can evaluate only what is visible.