home inspector selection ? (Howe: real estate, credit, neighborhood)

[LQQKOUT]

Originally Posted by ggolf

When I was in the mortgage business years ago, I worked hard to get Realtor referrals. One Realtor told me she would only recommend me along with 2 others, because if she only recommended me and I screwed up she might be held liable and get sued. If she gave my name and 2 others the buyer would make the choice so she would be off the hook.
Welcome to land o' lawyer.

That is also what my agent did for me. I trusted my realtor and have used her multiple times and my family has used her as well.

[jsafstrom]

Nothing wrong with a realtor recommendation on an inspector, but do a little research on your own too. Give the inspector a call, check reviews, etc. I have been recommended by several agents b/c of my quality of work, and they know their clients will be happy with the service. And yes, several buyers have walked away because of what was found during the inspection. Good agents don't want to sell just anything to their clients, they want what is best for them.

[Johnhw2]

Originally Posted by jsafstrom

Nothing wrong with a realtor recommendation on an inspector, but do a little research on your own too. Give the inspector a call, check reviews, etc. I have been recommended by several agents b/c of my quality of work, and they know their clients will be happy with the service. And yes, several buyers have walked away because of what was found during the inspection. Good agents don't want to sell just anything to their clients, they want what is best for them.

ask your realtor for 3 recommendations, including a professional engineer. engineers have less personality and dont get invited to parties, they dont think good is a relative or subjective term. get a picky engineer then you can decide what needs to fixed with the engineers advice

[Rakin]

Originally Posted by Johnhw2

ask your realtor for 3 recommendations, including a professional engineer. engineers have less personality and dont get invited to parties, they dont think good is a relative or subjective term. get a picky engineer then you can decide what needs to fixed with the engineers advice

Foundation Engineers cost about $400 and not needed on new construction. A general inspector is what they need 1st. A general inspector is not an engineer (rarely).

[ru4real]

Texas inspectors and Engineers doing inspections in TX are required to be licensed by TREC.
There are also 3 levels of inspectors apprentice, licensed and Professional. Pro should be obvious but a valid license does not imply competency, look at the person driving next to you or maybe you're that driver.

1. Qualifications A strong background and education in proper construction technique is essential for a quality inspector
2. Scope: what is and is not included in the inspection service
3. Sample reports made available
4. Client Testimonials made available
5. A quality inspection is not the place or time for bargain hunting.

The unbiased eye will get you the facts but the real fact is many folks don't like to hear the truth.

Moderator cut: see comment

[jbiggs]

Originally Posted by Rakin

Why would they not want it to go well ?

Once the buyer signs the contract the agent has no more worries and typically has no cares either. At that point the agent has performed their job of getting the buyer to sign whatever they can.

The builder will fix whatever problems are found and it's not like you are negotiating repair issues.

The builder is only going to fix what they want to fix. One of their tricks is to tell you that the local city inspectors have already green tagged it and your third party inspector is wrong, when in fact they just might be right! The builders are in the business to make money and if trying to repair something is going to be expensive or delay their schedule they are not going to do it.

As an agent I only want the very best inspectors working for my clients.

Translation of "very best" - An inspector that writes the reports the way the agent would like to see them written. That is the way that does not scare the buyer into realizing something is actually $screwed up and they should "Run" not walk away from that house.

The time to find a problem is before you close on a home, not after. Especially new construction.

Comments in blue italic above.

I've seen plenty of those reports from inspectors in the agents back pockets. I've also seen the toll they have taken on the poor home buyer who now has so many dollars worth of problems that should have been reported. There are some good agents out there that actually have referred good inspectors but both are few and far between.

[jbiggs]

Originally Posted by mSooner

Honestly, it would depend on how honest your realtor is...personally I would find my own home inspector.

Very smart move!

However helpful or nice they may be, the primary goal of a realtor's job is to close a deal.

Closing the deal also means finding the inspector that will write the report the way the agent would like it written. In essence the inspector is working for the agent and not the person buying the house.

Since a bad inspection can do the absolute opposite, I would find someone that is independent of the realtor so they can be completely objective.

Yes an inspection that turns up many problems can cause the buyer to walk away from the house. The agents do not like that as they now have to start all over again. Of course when the buyer does not walk away from the house that is where I get to meet them and make money!

Ironically I was about to post asking for recommendations from here because we are in the same situation!

Comments in blue italic above.

[Rakin]

Jbiggs, your advice is just down right bad and shows you lack knowledge. Car to share with us where you gained such intimate knowledge ?

[jbiggs]

Originally Posted by Rakin

Not sure where you guys get your ideas on a Realtor and their recommended inspectors but in almost all cases you are totally wrong.

The statement needs to be reversed!

We agents want only the best inspectors who are very complete in their inspections. It saves us lawsuits,

According to the inspectors I have spoken with the number of agent lawsuits is extremely small and not because they refer good inspectors. Apparently agents have specific and required forms to fill out and they even have templates that a monkey can follow to stay out of trouble. I hear that agents will not put any advice in writing of any kind so it can't come back on them. I'm also told that agents will hide behind their rues and refuse to offer advice claiming it is legal advice, beyond the allowable license, blah, blah, blah. In other words other than those agents that really mess up the rest of them are well shielded from liability. When a lawsuit does come down the pike I have been told they just point the finger at the inspector since they are the ones that put things in writing.

we want your referrals and if you don't buy the home we know you'll buy another.

You'll trust a stranger on the internet but you don't trust the one person you should trust the most.

Buyers should never trust anyone completely. When they do that is when they are most likely to get $crewed! The one person they should trust the most are themselves.

Answers in blue italic above. Interesting how the answers are the same from just about every agent posting here.

[jbiggs]

Originally Posted by ggolf

I've used Realtor recommended inspectors and never had a problem. I guess it depends on how well you trust your Realtor?
In this Internet age, it's too easy to post a review of any business that hoses you so I think most everyone is trying to clean up their act.

They are not trying to clean up their act. What they are doing is trying to get better at avoiding being discovered. It is simply amazing how much time someone will put into doing something wrong when doing it right takes so much less time and effort!