Where I live (BC, Canada), we as electrical contractors are not allowed to perform electrical inspections. The only one who can do an official electrical inspection is the electrical inspector himself. I will however, do an "evaluation" of the wiring. But as LK states, as a contractor my interest is finding work, so that could be considered a conflict of interest.
On a heritage home we recently re-wired, the home inspector missed many things that could have resulted in the new owner to back out of the sale, had he caught them and put them on paper. For instance, only 1 out of 3 elements on the electric furnace worked (other 2 had burnt off wires), and only 10% of the breakers for lighting and receptacles were sized properly....the rest were 30 amps.
A home inspector here makes approx. $300 to $400 for an inspection that takes about 4 to 5 hours to complete. That is a pretty good hourly rate, and for that kind of money I would expect more thorough training of the inspector as well as a more thorough inspection. In my opinion, catching a few ungrounded or reversed-polarity receptacles just doesn't cut it.
