Present for Home Inspections (disclosure, mortgage, mortgage, property)

[bentlebee]

Originally Posted by tagylyn

I am a seller, I have accepted a contract and the buyer has the home inspection scheduled for Friday.

Should a seller be present or not for inspection?

I have been present for all the inspections and would do so again! It can be important to hear what they find and get some nice free advise for your next home what to look for your self.

[LaceyEx]

We were present along with buyers, buyers agent and our agent. We all sat on the deck and chatted. If the inspector had any questions he came to us.

[Rakin]

Originally Posted by Racelady88

I have never had a buyer be there. I have had buyers agents show up and leave after the inspector got going.

Anytime I've ever sold a house and the buyer has not shown up at least at the end to go over the report with the inspector, there has been unnecessary problems on repairs and related issues.

The buyer needs to hear directly from the inspector what issues are big and what issues are no big deal. There is something always lost when an agent tries to interpret the report for the inspector. The inspector can also take him into the attic and other places to show what he describes in his report.

It's a very good thing for the buyer to be there and talk to the inspector.

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by Racelady88

The times I have sold I have always be present for the inspections. I have never had a buyer be there. I have had buyers agents show up and leave after the inspector got going. Most of the time it has just been me & the inspector. I just go about my business, and the inspector finds me if he has a question or wants to point something out.

Really?

I work hard to get my buyer's there. Things often sound worse on a report than they really are so it's important to SEE what the inspector sees.

I've had a buyer not make it once. I really stress the importance of being there. This is a huge purchase. I'm always there to.

[Barking Spider]

Some inspectors have Supra keys, I found they were a waste of time for me, because the local board made inspectors get the CBS code from the lisiting agent. IN the 9 months I had the key, I was only able to get into a house only 3 times. It was a joke. If the LA even knew what a CBS code was, they didn't know theirs for that lock box, or they gave me the wrong code.

I rely on the Buyers agent to let me in the house. The Buyers agent will open the house and pretty much leave, since most of the offices around Knoxville have asked their agents to NOT be at the inspection.

My clients (the buyers) attend the inspection probably 90% of the time. Sellers are rarely there, and I actually prefer it that way.

I will sometimes engage the seller in conversation and ask general questions like when they last had the heat & air serviced, or how old the roof is, etc., but generally don't really rely on their answers. For my own liability, I would be foolish to put something in the report based on what they told me, and not on my own observations. It is very rare I can not figure out where the GFCI re-sets, or what a switch goes to.

The problems come when the seller tries to "help out" and "explain" stuff, usually when I am trying to explain to my client what I have found. A lot of times, there will be the "Well, it's been like that for 15 years" explanation. There are also times when the seller has decided he/she is part of my inspection, and is now fully involved in the conversations, and may start to argue with me.

This is a difficult position for the inspector, since we ARE guests in the house, and I always try to respect that aspect. However, this is MY inspection, and I'M there for MY client, and the seller is really an interloper.

The inspection time is also the time for the buyer to visit the house and plan where things are going to go, what colors to paint, how much ugly wallpaper is going to have to come down, etc. They may want to measure rooms, or windows, and walk around without feeling like an intruder with someone hanging over their shoulder the entire time. THEY will feel more comfortable.

While many times the seller being at the inspection is fine, there are many times when it is adversarial. I can't tell you how many times a seller has started looking at their watch after an hour and asked me how much longer I was going to be, because "their" inspector only took an hour and a half for theirs. My stock answer is, "I will be finished when I am done". I also inform them that usually it's about 3 hours give or take.

The other side of it is when a seller is at the inspection, I will usually get a call from them later to schedule their inspection. They may not like me when I'm inspecting their house, but they sure want me to inspect the house they are buying.

My advice is to not be there. It can be very stressful watching someone go through your house, opening cabinets, running water, looking in your closets, etc.

AS far as being worried about strangers being in your house. Well, first of all, you do know who is going to be in your house, so if something is missing or broken, you know who was there and when. I have to say I would be a fool to steal something from a house I was inspecting. If you are really worried about something that is valuable, then put a deadbolt on a closet door, lock it and leave a note that the door is locked. Just don't pick the closet where the attic hatch is.

[Rakin]

Spiderman, Another excellent post. Good job.

[Barking Spider]

Rakin, thanks for the comment!

I realized I forgot to add another aspect of home inspecting, but it dawned on me today when I was in a house all by myself.

When we start out doing home inspections, it's probably normal to look at people's furniture and stuff as we walk through the house. But that wears off pretty quickly. When I open the bathroom cabinet (under the sink), I'm looking for active leaks, issues with the pipes, and stains or damage inside the cabinet. Same for the kitchen. Unless something is really weird, or out of place, it doesn't even make a blip on my radar.

After doing this for close to 20 years, I really don't care what kind of furniture someone has, or if they keep porn near the attic access hatch, or if they have lots of fancy clothes. I'm only looking for problems with the house.

[crazyma]

so how do you know 'they' keep porn near the attic door
he hehe heh

[Barking Spider]

I have to go into the attic to inspect it.

You would think that if people know that someone (a stranger at that) is coming over, and they are going to go over the house with a fine tooth comb, they just may want to put away stuff like: guns, cash, drugs, porn and sex toys, and maybe, just maybe, not leave filthy dishes in the sink where I have to run water and operate the disposal.

I could write a book - several books.

[crazyma]

spider, scary thing is the houses probably are like that when there is a showing too! And how they ever sell is a mystery to me.