It is often hard for the consumer to judge whether an inspection is good value for money. Time varies with skill, knowledge and professionalism. Local knowledge is important. Anything under an hour may be suspicious. Time on the job depends on the size and complexity of the structure, the location and more importantly the type of inspection required. Followup inspections are the fastest. Say you are wanting a typical house checked out before you buy it. I would normally expect that pre-purchase inspection to take around two to three hours. Obviously, an old or heavily renovated house will take more effort to inspect for signs of termites than a brand new one. If you have a contracted service or have a management system installed (subterranean termites), then the regular inspection can be a lot faster, maybe even 45 minutes to one hour. If you have reported an infestation and the technician is exploring the extent of activity using a range of tools (including the fancy ones such as a Termatrac radar unit or a thermal camera), then it may take the best part of a day. Big houses take longer, apartments take less time. Don’t worry if the technician takes longer than expected as this is usually OK. If you think the process was too quick, query about why and be sure to ask detailed questions about which areas weren’t inspected (often because of blocking furniture or locked access). Remember that your mileage will often differ from that of your friends and neighbors.