NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – The hot housing market has created a high demand for home inspectors.

In some cases, home inspectors have to turn away business because they’re so busy, according to Ed McDaniel, a certified home inspector and owner of Home Inspection Professionals, LLC.

“We are all just booked up,” McDaniel, who is also president of the Home Inspectors of Tennessee Association, told News 2.

Crystal Ragan, a realtor for Keller Williams Realty, said it’s sometimes difficult to find a home inspector.

“We have some deals where we have to wait several days to find a home inspector,” said Ragan. “Finding a good one is important because it can impact whether a deal goes through.”

McDaniel told News 2 home buyers need to do their homework before hiring a home inspector and not pick the cheapest one available.

“The home inspector lets the buyer know about any problems they could be walking into,” he said. “There is nothing wrong with buying a house with problems, but you need to know what they are.”

Also, an inspection can leave a home buyer paying thousands of dollars for possible undetected repairs.

“A lot of times it’s issues in the crawl space or in the attic that the average home buyer is not going to see,” McDaniel said. “It could be very costly depending on if you are talking about a structural issue or something.”

On the other hand, realtors warn buyers to make sure the home inspection is not listing problems for the sake of listing problems.

“First time home buyers are usually a little bit more cautious and a bit more scared of home ownership,” Ragan said, adding, “Sometimes the little things can break the deal because they think they are going to go into a property and have everything be perfect.  Of course anytime you buy a house you are going to have issues.”

Ragan told News 2 she tries to use home inspectors she has had previous good experiences with, but it can be hard to book them.

In some cases she extends the period of time for an inspection from seven to 12 days.

McDaniel told News 2 he would suggest making that more like 14 days to be safe.

He said buyers should hire an inspector who is certified and a member of reputable associations like the Home Inspectors of Tennessee Association.

Buyers can also check the Tennessee Department of Commerce website for information on home inspectors.