Pickiest thing on your house inspection? (plumber, negotiations, agent, sales)
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We just had our house inspection - the inspector couldn't find a whole lot wrong with our home so he included things on the report like: Light fixture outside kitchen door doesn't have a lightbulb in it (on the side of the house that no one ever uses for any reason) and fan in bedroom doesn't have a lightkit - the inspector felt that for safety reasons the fan should have a light in it (we don't care for the look of fans with lights in them nor the way a center ceiling light reflects on the room and we do have multiple lamps throughout the room - one is within inches of the door on a bedside chest.
Soooo, I'd love to read some of your house inspector's odd demerits on your report.
A tree stump 100' from the house had termites and he wanted it treated. We had a temite service contract for 30+ years and when I called they just laughed. But guess he had to put a negative as there was nothing else.
Cracked mirror in bathroom, no railing for the front steps (all three of them!), beer bottle left under the back access panel. This was on a bank-owned property by the way, it could have been much worse than the ~$5,000 worth of repairs recommended within the next year or so.
We just had our house inspection - the inspector couldn't find a whole lot wrong with our home so he included things on the report like: Light fixture outside kitchen door doesn't have a lightbulb in it (on the side of the house that no one ever uses for any reason) and fan in bedroom doesn't have a lightkit - the inspector felt that for safety reasons the fan should have a light in it (we don't care for the look of fans with lights in them nor the way a center ceiling light reflects on the room and we do have multiple lamps throughout the room - one is within inches of the door on a bedside chest.
Soooo, I'd love to read some of your house inspector's odd demerits on your report.
Sounds like he did what he was paid to do. You are not obligated to make any repairs pointed out. I'm sure your buyer will let you slide if you don't replace that outside porch light. The inspection is to point out possible problems, and is basis for negotiations. So you negotiate. You allow the buyer $1.25 for a new light bulb, and $75.00 for a light kit. Life is simple, and good...!
Last home I sold had an inspection, so I made every repair recommended. the sale fell through. I sold it again a week later, and it was inspected again by a different inspector. He found a completely different list of needed repairs. Both lists were stupid little things. The inspector is going to find something no matter how perfect the house is. Someone pays you $300.00, you have to put something down...!
Cracked mirror in bathroom, no railing for the front steps (all three of them!), beer bottle left under the back access panel. This was on a bank-owned property by the way, it could have been much worse than the ~$5,000 worth of repairs recommended within the next year or so.
These are all safety issues. Railings may be code.
Most Realtors call those Home Inspectors "deal killers".
Home Inspectors feel the need to justify their fees by writing up senseless and frivolous things.
Look at it another way. If you the buyer paid the Inspector to inspect the house and he gave the report back to you with all lines blank and said sorry but nothing is wrong, would you be happy? Suspicious? Hesitant to believe he did a proper job?
From a buyers end, if they see a report with something to complain about on every line they get worried. The complaints may well be stupid things like burned out light bulb or leaking faucett but all those stupid things add up to worry and concern.
Many times the buyer will say they want to offer thousands less because all those things which add up to $25 is scaring them into backing out.
I see a need for those clowns which are just glorified handymans, even if licensed by NACHI, but they sure do know how to kill a deal.
Most Realtors call those Home Inspectors "deal killers".
Home Inspectors feel the need to justify their fees by writing up senseless and frivolous things.
Look at it another way. If you the buyer paid the Inspector to inspect the house and he gave the report back to you with all lines blank and said sorry but nothing is wrong, would you be happy? Suspicious? Hesitant to believe he did a proper job?
From a buyers end, if they see a report with something to complain about on every line they get worried. The complaints may well be stupid things like burned out light bulb or leaking faucett but all those stupid things add up to worry and concern.
Many times the buyer will say they want to offer thousands less because all those things which add up to $25 is scaring them into backing out.
I see a need for those clowns which are just glorified handymans, even if licensed by NACHI, but they sure do know how to kill a deal.
Home inspector's don't kill the deal, buyers and bad agents do.
The pickier the better. The point of the home inspection is for the buyer to SATISFY themselves with the condition of the property. The point is not to negotiate repairs, although that is a consequence of it.
Any buyer that asks a seller to put a lightbulb in a fixture has a crappy agent. Good agents prep their buyers that ALL homes have something "wrong" with them. Buyer's walk in knowing that there will be minor things. This is a house, not a museum.
I've never had a buyer ask for nonsense items like a plumber to turn down the water heater. That is a bad agent problem in my opinion and has nothing to do with the home inspector.
Sellers should be THANKFUL for the nit pickiest of home inspections because it PROTECTS you in a potential future lawsuit. It the pickiest of home inspector's didn't pick up on a problem, how would you? In Oregon, our home inspectors are licensed contractors.
People need to reframe the purpose of a home inspection. AGENTS need to reframe the purpose of an inspection for buyers.
These are all safety issues. Railings may be code.
Yes, railings are dictated by code. I had that issue pop up on both the homes I had inspected recently. I didn't ask the sellers to install a railing in either case. Of course, when I go to sell the house 10 years down the line, I'll wind up with having to install a railing!
I used to be very skeptical of home inspections - always seemed to be nitpicky items, or things that had no business being on the report in the first place (i.e. crickets in the crawlspace under a condominium). My viewpoint has changed though after having a really great (and yes, picky!) inspector go over two 20-year old houses in the past month. Yes, the list of items needing repair was very long but I didn't request everything be fixed. I picked major items - safety issues, things obviously broken (i.e. leaking water pressure regulator in the crawspace), etc. I got my own estimates for some major items, and wound up asking for a reduction in sales price to cover some of the cost. I did my best to be reasonable and overall I think the transaction went very well.
Oh and even though my first deal fell through due to repair issues (the sellers fault entirely), the seller's realtor actually called the inspector I used and had him do an inspection on another property. So, even though he could have branded the inspector a "deal killer" he obviously respected his thoroughness.
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