A good home safety visit ends with paper you can use after the assessor drives away. Most of the difference between assessors shows up in that paper. Ask each one for a sample report before you book, and read it the way you would read a contract: slowly, with a pencil, looking for what is missing as much as what is there.
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Check that the report walks the route
A useful report goes stop by stop from her bed to the toilet and back. For each stop it should name the location, give a measurement or a photo reference, and say what is wrong or what is fine. Look for the lighting at the bed, the hall, and the bathroom door, the floor surface and any change in flooring, the places she could grab, and the distance from the bed edge to the bathroom door. A report that talks only about the house in general is not much help at 3am.
Separate what is required from what is optional
The report should label each recommendation as needed for safety or as a nice-to-have. If everything is marked urgent, or nothing is labeled at all, ask the assessor to sort the list. Ask who would do each fix, whether they do it or refer it out, and whether the report lists any brand they profit from. A recommendation that names only one product line with no reason is worth questioning.
Check who stands behind the assessor
Ask for the assessor's license or certification number and look it up with the agency that issued it. Ask whether they carry liability insurance and whether the report is signed with their name. These questions are routine, and a legitimate assessor will answer them without fuss. Hesitation is information you should write down.
Watch for pressure
Be cautious of an assessor who wants you to sign or pay on the spot, who calls the house unsafe without showing you where, or who says the discount ends today. Take the report home, compare it with at least one other, and decide after you have read both.
How to compare two reports
Put the reports next to each other and check the same six stops in each. Count how many measurements each one gives, how many stops it covers, and how many recommendations are labeled as needed. The report with the clearer map of her route is usually the one to trust.
What to write down
Write the assessor's name, the license number, the insurance confirmation, the number of stops covered, and the top three needed fixes from each report. Keep the signed report in the same folder as the fee terms, so the paper that tells you what to do stays in one place.