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I know Oregon is a little bit different because the inspectors here take the class, and have to tag along with a home inspector in order to get the license in Oregon. I want to say it is 8-10 inspections they have to go on, but not sure of the amount. It's not a lot, but it's better than most states.
We also don't allow our home inspectors to quote repairs. They can't quote/repair any home they inspect (for three years) I think. That way clients don't have to worry that the inspector is making up repairs in order to get business. They can't have it anyway.
I've only run into one inspector in my 5 years as an agent that I thought was a doofus, but I thought the same thing about the agent that referred him so it's consistent with my belief that good agents refer clients to good inspectors and not so good agents, probably don't.
I generally do not need a "deal killer" inspector as I have a very good ability to explain to buyers that are my clients what I think the strengths and weaknesses of a property are. Once in a great while an inspection turns up something that I was unaware of, for good or bad, but because I knew the inventory I sold pretty darn well I would have prepped my clients for this.
I honestly believe a great many inspectors should NOT be in the business. Some because they are just not very good at inspecting houses prior to sale and give buyers information that is incomplete/incorrect BUT MANY OTHERS because they do a poor job of communicating / relating to buyers.
I can be in house and look at a rotted out gutter through the window and say "you should factor that into your offer and/or budget for replacement" in such a way that buyers are aware the situation but still very much interested in the house. Too many inspectors will say "galvanized gutters has rusted through so they are ineffective in moving rain water away from house which could to lead to seepage in basement, rotting sill plate and structural failure". All true but NOT something that there is evidence of (or else I would seen that in the basement and not advised clients to make offer) nor should someone that is contemplating spending perhaps $500K on a house be made to flinch at the thought of spending $2000 on new gutters or asking that seller addresses this situation.
In such a case the inspector did NOT "save them thousands" he turned them off of the best house they could afford and possibly COST them an opportunity to buy a place for MUCH LESS than it would have sold for just a short time ago...
My parents would have paid cash for the house (so there was no financing contingency) and the home inspector passed the house. My parents were able to get their earnest money back and get out of buying the house.
Interesting because home inspectors don't "pass" or "fail" houses so a house can't "fail" inspection. They simply report issues that need to be addressed for safety and structure. Then buyers and sellers can work out repairs based on those findings.
I generally do not need a "deal killer" inspector as I have a very good ability to explain to buyers that are my clients what I think the strengths and weaknesses of a property are.
I disagree. I want the nit pickiest inspector that notes every section of dry rot and has a photo to support it. Agents that don't point out the obvious to their clients do them a disservice, but that is an agent training issue. It's not the home inspectors fault that an agent doesn't know basic red flags and warns a client. The goal of the home inspection is to point out all defects, large and small, so that the buyer feels comfortable with the purchase. To me that includes the pocket door that doesn't latch correctly, the slow drain, and the door that doesn't close correctly.
I personally have never seen the drama queen type of home inspectors and I am personally present at home inspections and insist my clients are there when possible. I agree that how things sound in words on paper doesn't reflect that small nature of the defect sometimes.
I haven't had a client yet that didn't like one of the home inspectors I recommend. I do agree with you and MikeJ that the ideal home inspector is a combination of skill and personality.
But he just made my referral list because of that inspection - he was thorough, informative and my buyer loved him - and he saved my client THOUSANDS of dollars by putting the kabatz on the money pit house.
Dang it, can't rep you again. Sounds like an inspector I recommended in the states - good ones don't kill deals, they save buyers thousands of dollars by being thorough. The true deal killers are the ones like Mike mentioned who I also could only rep in spirit.
Buyers wary of using an inspector recommended by a real estate agent, were/are inclined to get out the yellow pages and start dialing for dollars. They usually got/get what they paid for.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Silverfall
Hopefully the home inspector you hired gets enough business to pay the bills.
Either your dad had bad luck in picking a home inspector or he didn't pick his real estate agent very well.
Once again, taking what I have said out of context.
I stated previously that I did not select a inspector out of the yellow pages; I received a referral from a fellow home buyer and friend.
Silverfall, you mention that my dad did not pick his home inspector and/or real estate agent very well. My dad probably did not do a good job selecting his real estate agent. I will give you that. His real estate agent recommended a home inspector who was completely incompetent or fraudulently found no issues with the house.
For the record, my home inspector has had a very successful 35-year career with ZERO referrals from real estate agents. I think he has managed just fine.
Interesting because home inspectors don't "pass" or "fail" houses so a house can't "fail" inspection. They simply report issues that need to be addressed for safety and structure. Then buyers and sellers can work out repairs based on those findings.
When I used the word "pass" in my post, I was referring to my original post where a home inspector did not find any issues during his inspection, while there were in reality major issues with the house.
There were no repairs to be worked out based on "findings" as the home inspector had no "findings."
For the record, my home inspector has had a very successful 35-year career with ZERO referrals from real estate agents. I think he has managed just fine.
Call me skeptical, but I highly doubt he's had ZERO referrals from agents over 35 years. If he said he has...well I wouldn't believe him. I would believe he told you what you wanted to hear.
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Gutters
