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Old 01-15-2016, 08:22 AM
 
9,265 posts, read 8,199,049 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeJaquish View Post

The question always arises:
What would a consumer expect their agent to do when they independently go to a scam site like Angieslist, or to book club, or wherever, and pick a known loser of an inspector?
Since the agent is already not deemed trustworthy, is it incumbent on the agent to discuss the choice of inspector, or should the agent just sit back and let their client use a bum without a murmur?
To be honest I'm surprised agents are even allowed to make recommendations on inspectors, attorneys, etc. I mean they're not even allowed to give you an opinion on schools, which is a deciding factor of home buying for many.

At the end of the day, an agent is really limited on the advice and guidance they're allowed to give you. Since you should be doing your due diligence anyway, why not pick an inspector that isn't affiliated with someone who has a monetary interest in the sale?
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Old 01-15-2016, 08:33 AM
 
3,666 posts, read 6,546,962 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bpobill View Post
It's not a conflict of interest at all.

I'm from the North and have no trust issues like that. I can't imagine why geographical location would make any sort of a difference, but please don't lump your trust issues with people from the North. If you cannot trust a professionals recommendation then I'm not sure what to tell you.


A realtors biggest compliment is to receive referrals from their past clients. Most of them do not care about making the sale, and care more about getting referrals from the client after the sale. That means the client needs to be more than satisfied with the entire transaction which includes the inspections. Most Realtors have a great inspector that knows how to find the issues, and explain them in a way that does not scare the buyers.
I sort of get it. Living my first four plus decades in NY, I developed a basic mistrust of people in most business dealings. It's not always fair or accurate to assume the worst, but it's always smart to factor it into the equation.

As for the Original Post, if you're comfortable using the recommended home inspector I would go low and just have them conduct a sanity check of the core areas. We paid a little extra back in 2007 for a radon test but otherwise everything else was included in one price. The only bad experience we had in using a Realtor recommendation, coincidentally, was when we bought our current house. Our Realtor recommended we have the septic system checked out and when the company showed up they were informed that the system was about to be replaced before we closed and so there was no need to inspect. But the technician claimed that he had to charge me anyway because he showed up. I complained about it to my Realtor who slipped a gift card into our welcome basket when we closed equal to the amount we were charged.

I think most Realtors surround themselves with people they feel represent them well and are comfortable recommending.

Oh, and if you search these forums there's someone everyone goes nuts about using for home inspections, though his name escapes me at the moment.
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Old 01-15-2016, 08:35 AM
 
Location: Cary, NC
43,025 posts, read 76,529,724 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by m378 View Post
To be honest I'm surprised agents are even allowed to make recommendations on inspectors, attorneys, etc. I mean they're not even allowed to give you an opinion on schools, which is a deciding factor of home buying for many.

At the end of the day, an agent is really limited on the advice and guidance they're allowed to give you. Since you should be doing your due diligence anyway, why not pick an inspector that isn't affiliated with someone who has a monetary interest in the sale?
Interesting point, but not an answer to the question.
I have seen some incredibly inept, and even crooked, inspectors over the years.
Not only do I get to see them from the buyers' side, but also from the listing side.
I know the guys who expected me to give them the lockbox codes, even when they know they weren't allowed to have them.
I know the guy who cannot write a report, so has his wife or high schooler do it. And, the reports are really incredible. But, he is personable and does a couple hundred inspections a year.
I know the guy who is top-rated on Angieslist, who lied about access to the crawlspace to my clients. And gave my buyer a hard sell about how great the old house was. And pitched me for future business.
I know the guy who is top-rated on Angieslist, who takes it personally and won't write stuff I point out that he has missed.

Should I help the buyer whom I serve as a fiduciary weed them out? If so, how should I do that?

Schools are about illegal discrimination and steering.
Inspections are about due diligence, and the client deserves decent service. It is a bit iffy to recommend inspectors from a liability standpoint, but assuming that bit of liability may be decent service.
And, at the end of the day, the client has the final choice, of course.

What people have to recognize is that NO inspector is perfect. On every inspection, every house, they miss something. That is NOT because they are recommended by the agent, or the knitting circle. It is because they are human.
I am sure sacredgrooves and carcrazy will agree with that. People need to temper their expectations with the fact that all service providers are human.

Last edited by MikeJaquish; 01-15-2016 at 08:45 AM..
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Old 01-15-2016, 08:39 AM
 
Location: Raleigh NC
25,118 posts, read 16,076,346 times
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I think your consistent mistrust of Realtors is the common thread here, and as you've expressed, and the well-written post from someone else that you liked - that's OK. We humans are nothing if not quite different emotionally and psychologically. Your modus operandi is to operate from a stance of "how is this person [not just agents] out to have the upper hand on me?" Some people are that way. To you, the express fiduciary duty that folks like Mike and Vicki and I take very seriously isn't important. You want an order taker, and there will always be that type of agent ready to do what you tell them to do. There is indeed a segment of the home-transaction population whose needs are served - in their own mind which is the only place that matters in the end - by a transaction agent.

It would actually be enjoyable in a way to have clients sign disclosures essentially saying "I waive all advice from my agent, and hold them harmless evermore to the actions I have chosen of my own free will"
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Old 01-15-2016, 08:44 AM
 
9,848 posts, read 30,192,424 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bpobill View Post
It's not a conflict of interest at all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by m378 View Post
Why are you yelling?
Just a little internet etiquette here. Typing in bold is not yelling. It is for added emphasis. TYPING IN CAPS IS CONSIDERED YELLING!

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Old 01-15-2016, 08:46 AM
 
Location: Cary, NC
43,025 posts, read 76,529,724 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by North_Raleigh_Guy View Post
Just a little internet etiquette here. Typing in bold is not yelling. It is for added emphasis. TYPING IN CAPS IS CONSIDERED YELLING!

Thank YOU for YOUR considered INPUT!

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Old 01-15-2016, 09:00 AM
 
Location: Raleigh, NC
5,780 posts, read 6,829,154 times
Reputation: 10056
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeJaquish View Post
What people have to recognize is that NO inspector is perfect. On every inspection, every house, they miss something. That is NOT because they are recommended by the agent, or the knitting circle. It is because they are human.
I am sure sacredgrooves and carcrazy will agree with that. People need to temper their expectations with the fact that all service providers are human.
It is worth the time to scan through document below, which is the Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics, especially the part on Exclusions and what shall be inspected.

http://www.ncdoi.com/OSFM/Engineerin...%20excerpt.pdf
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Old 01-15-2016, 09:05 AM
 
Location: Cary, NC
43,025 posts, read 76,529,724 times
Reputation: 45332
Quote:
Originally Posted by don6170 View Post
It is worth the time to scan through document below, which is the Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics, especially the part on Exclusions and what shall be inspected.

http://www.ncdoi.com/OSFM/Engineerin...%20excerpt.pdf


Good one.
Might have to print and share as needed, with clients.
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Old 01-15-2016, 09:06 AM
 
9,265 posts, read 8,199,049 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BoBromhal View Post
I think your consistent mistrust of Realtors is the common thread here, and as you've expressed, and the well-written post from someone else that you liked - that's OK. We humans are nothing if not quite different emotionally and psychologically. Your modus operandi is to operate from a stance of "how is this person [not just agents] out to have the upper hand on me?" Some people are that way. To you, the express fiduciary duty that folks like Mike and Vicki and I take very seriously isn't important. You want an order taker, and there will always be that type of agent ready to do what you tell them to do. There is indeed a segment of the home-transaction population whose needs are served - in their own mind which is the only place that matters in the end - by a transaction agent.

It would actually be enjoyable in a way to have clients sign disclosures essentially saying "I waive all advice from my agent, and hold them harmless evermore to the actions I have chosen of my own free will"
It's not that I mistrust all realtors, it's that I believe it's my own responsibility to make sure I'm protected and not taken advantage of. For every group of great realtors, there's one scummy unethical one. Same goes for any other profession in the world. I think you and I could probably agree on that.

We worked with a great agent when we bought here - if we work with her again my level of trust would likely be increased. We could count on one hand how many people we knew here when we moved, so we didn't have many recommendations to go on. We ended up choosing someone we met at an open house, because she seemed nice and was low-pressure. I wasn't expecting much, initially we really just were looking for someone to get us into houses and fill out the contract. It ended up working out, but again, I didn't know her and I knew there was a monetary interest so I proceeded with caution.

Lots of people come and pick a random realtor (as we did), or are assigned a realtor through a corporate relocation or something. You never know what you're going to get.

Last edited by m378; 01-15-2016 at 09:17 AM..
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Old 01-15-2016, 09:19 AM
 
9,265 posts, read 8,199,049 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeJaquish View Post

Should I help the buyer whom I serve as a fiduciary weed them out? If so, how should I do that?
I think it depends on the buyer. I personally would never hold you accountable for an inspector that I insisted on picking. But I realize not all people are like that.
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