Present for Home Inspections (vent, construction, claim, Realtors)

[tagylyn]

Thank you everyone for your opinions!
Spider, Thanks for the insight!

The inspection has been cancelled because the contract fell through
It turns out, the buyer's lending company had made a mistake on her "approval" amount. She was actually only approved for $10,000 less of her original approval letter. (That came from the lending company).
That amount was too much for me to make up, I had already offered $8000 in closing.

I did find out who the inspection company was though and checked their references. And I was ok. They were legit.

I think I was worried that the buyer was going to bring in a "cousin" or something along that line for the inspection.

[Northwest CT Dweller]

I always attend home inspections with my buyers...or if I have a conflict, I send another agent in my place. I want to be there to get the information first hand, ask questions to get clarification for myself and/or my client and interepret, explain, and just generally insure that my client understands what is going on. This is part of the service I offer to every client - I am there with them through every step of the process of buying a home. Any Realtor who does not do this is not doing his or her job very well, in my opinion. Also, I have never had a seller be present at an inspection.

[Roselvr]

Originally Posted by tagylyn

The inspection has been cancelled because the contract fell through
It turns out, the buyer's lending company had made a mistake on her "approval" amount. She was actually only approved for $10,000 less of her original approval letter. (That came from the lending company).
That amount was too much for me to make up, I had already offered $8000 in closing.

I did find out who the inspection company was though and checked their references. And I was ok. They were legit.

I think I was worried that the buyer was going to bring in a "cousin" or something along that line for the inspection.

Sorry that the deal fell through. Hopefully you weren't off the market long.

If you do end up selling, you need to decide if you will stay home for the inspection or not. We stayed home but stayed out of the way. I was working in the front yard, at times sat and talked to the buyer & his agent. Never once did the inspector ask me anything, yet when I saw his report he mentioned things like not being able to test all outlets due to furniture. About the only thing in front of outlets were computers and had he asked they could have been shut down and unplugged for him to do what was needed. He also tested the washer/dryer, something I didn't think he'd do. I was in the middle of doing laundry when they came. I have no clue what he did to my washer but for the longest time it wouldn't fill unless I kept pushing the button. He also left holes near every shower.

Best advice I can give you, keep your eye on them but stay out of the way. You should ask who is responsible to clarify anything that gets written up that they ask to be fixed. Are you able to contact the inspector directly? We wasted over a week trying to figure out a few things that were on our report. Buyer went on their honeymoon & no one was able to contact them. We did call the inspector directly, he never got back to us. Caused us a lot of stress.

[Cattknap]

A good inspector will always find things wrong with a house. Having recently been on the selling and buying end of 2 inspections, sellers can get very defensive about some of the things inspectors uncover, especially if their perception is that the house they are selling is in perfect condition. Sellers will defend and explain and argue with inspectors. Neither of the inspectors we had (one in Californa on the selling end and one in Kentucky on the buying end) would allow the sellers to be present.

We had the most wonderful real estate agent in So. California - he and his Dad have a combined 55 years experience in selling real estate. They have seen deals fall through because of arguments between the seller/inspector/buyers.....the buyer usually pays for the inspector so they should call the shots as to whether the sellers are there or not.

[bentlebee]

I'm sorry that it didn't work out and hope you will get a new offer soon and that you or your realtor will put in the contract that the home inspection and mortgage approval will be done within 10-14 days, so you don't have to keep your property off the market for a long time.

I always stayed during a homeinspections and if a buyer doesn't want me there than he wouldn't get access to my property since IMO it is completely normal if a buyer and his realtor and the seller are present...if they all want to be there. IMO a seller can also give answers to questions or help out to remove items so they can be checked. What a previous seller wrote about wholes in the bathroom is ridiculous and shouldn't have happened and IMO that isn't allowed unless the seller approves to that. Also it should be fixed by the home inspector or the buyer if they decide not to buy the house.
I have been present with buyers and one time there was a realtor involved and it was a very easy and relaxing nice time and the small issues that had to be fixed were easier for me to understand since the handwriting of the home inspector was in a way that I couldn't read it and the realtor agreed about that and had to call the inspector later about 1 thing that we both could remember and wasn't to read for us. When the repairs were done I was also there since I knew where and what was going on..this way I got it fixed the fastest.
Even although the buyer is paying for it that doesn't make him the owner of the house, just the inspection and IMO doesn't give him the right of refusing the seller to be there and to me that is a red flag...why?

[DMenscha]

Have your agent present for the inspection. You're paying good money to be represented, let them represent you.

[Barking Spider]

I'd like to address a couple of the past posts.
I would never ask a homeowner to unplug his computers to test an outlet. It obviously works. There is a chance the outlet could be ungrounded, or have reverse polarity, but not all that big of a deal. I'm also not going to move a water bed to check an outlet. Our Standards of Practice only require that we check a sampling of the outlets and switches, not every one.

Not sure what you mean by poking holes - it can mean a lot of things. While we are required to probe where we suspect damage, most of us try to NOT damage stuff. Wholesale poking is just not professional.

That said, I always rap on the tiles in a shower surround with my knuckles. Kind of like knocking on a door. I'm looking for loose tiles (you can tell they are loose by the sound). Keep in mind that I am not POUNDING on the walls, but just lightly tapping on them. Once as I was doing this, my hand went through the wall right next to the tub spout. Obviously, the wall had excessive long term damage, and probably would have caved in on it's own pretty soon. I just didn't like being the one that did it.

Is it my fault? Since I wasn't using excessive force, I contend it was not. The homeowner was pretty pissed at first (he was home), but when he looked closely at it, he could tell it was really bad.

I have to disagree with Bentlebee a bit though. While it is your house, it is the home buyers RIGHT to have a home inspection, and having a group there is kind of intimidating. AS far as being there to answer questions and move things, to me is just an excuse. A person should be able to move things out of the way long before the inspection is scheduled. It's pretty easy - we need access to the electric panel, water heater, heat and air units and the attic and crawlspace access. I already addressed the answer questions stuff - I usually don't rely on information from the homeowner. I need to form my own opinions based on my observations and knowledge base, and not someone else's.

The tone of your post "I always stayed during a homeinspections and if a buyer doesn't want me there than he wouldn't get access to my property" suggest that you might be a little defensive about your house, and may want to argue with the inspector about everything he found. Maybe not, but that's how I read it - I could be wrong.

Just my 2 cents as an inspector.

[crazyma]

Originally Posted by DMenscha

Have your agent present for the inspection. You're paying good money to be represented, let them represent you.

that pretty much sums it up

[MikeJaquish]

Originally Posted by Barking Spider

I'd like to address a couple of the past posts.
I would never ask a homeowner to unplug his computers to test an outlet. It obviously works. There is a chance the outlet could be ungrounded, or have reverse polarity, but not all that big of a deal. I'm also not going to move a water bed to check an outlet. Our Standards of Practice only require that we check a sampling of the outlets and switches, not every one.

Not sure what you mean by poking holes - it can mean a lot of things. While we are required to probe where we suspect damage, most of us try to NOT damage stuff. Wholesale poking is just not professional.

That said, I always rap on the tiles in a shower surround with my knuckles. Kind of like knocking on a door. I'm looking for loose tiles (you can tell they are loose by the sound). Keep in mind that I am not POUNDING on the walls, but just lightly tapping on them. Once as I was doing this, my hand went through the wall right next to the tub spout. Obviously, the wall had excessive long term damage, and probably would have caved in on it's own pretty soon. I just didn't like being the one that did it.

Is it my fault? Since I wasn't using excessive force, I contend it was not. The homeowner was pretty pissed at first (he was home), but when he looked closely at it, he could tell it was really bad.

I have to disagree with Bentlebee a bit though. While it is your house, it is the home buyers RIGHT to have a home inspection, and having a group there is kind of intimidating. AS far as being there to answer questions and move things, to me is just an excuse. A person should be able to move things out of the way long before the inspection is scheduled. It's pretty easy - we need access to the electric panel, water heater, heat and air units and the attic and crawlspace access. I already addressed the answer questions stuff - I usually don't rely on information from the homeowner. I need to form my own opinions based on my observations and knowledge base, and not someone else's.

The tone of your post "I always stayed during a homeinspections and if a buyer doesn't want me there than he wouldn't get access to my property" suggest that you might be a little defensive about your house, and may want to argue with the inspector about everything he found. Maybe not, but that's how I read it - I could be wrong.

Just my 2 cents as an inspector.

Agreed and Agreed.
This due diligence is time the Buyer's opportunity to speak freely, and to investigate as needed, without a Seller interfering.

The home speaks for itself. "Explanations" have their place. They should be done on the property disclosure form.

[VickiR]

I'm sure things are different from area to area and I can only speak for Wake and Johnston counties in NC.

Typically, for an inspection, the buyers, their agent and the inspector are present. If a buyer can't be there, their agent is there.

I prefer my sellers not be there. I had an instance, once, where a seller did not want to leave. She called me crying that they were moving stuff around in her kitchen, opening and closing doors, banging on the siding, etc., etc. A good reason NOT to be there. It is still the seller's HOME and it feels intrusive to have others poking and proding in your home. So I tell my sellers to get out.

Recently, I had a seller that was home when the buyers and I showed up. My buyers were unhappy because they wanted time to walk through the house with the inspector, without feeling that THEY were intruding. I guess the seller realized that we were surprised to her being there. She asked if we'd prefer she leave and since she was so nice about it, we suggested that she could make that decision. She decided to leave.

As to HOW we get into the house...we use the lock box here.

Vicki