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I haven't had that many 'red marks' since Sisiter Bona corrected me in first grade.
LOL
Several of the "red marks" were on items that may be right where you are, but not where I am.
And we just may honestly have different perspectives on a couple of the others.
One of the unfortunate weaknesses of the article is the broad unfocused generalization of the "issues," combined with a slant to slam the profession to gain readership.
Real estate practice is subject to local laws and customs.
While this situation is unfortunate, I think it is more unfortunate that you have condemned all home inspectors based on this one experience.
I don't want what I have said being taken out of context. I have NOT condemned ALL home inspectors and I never said that in my original post.
I said that I agree (dead-on) with #7. The home inspector that I hired is proud of the fact that he has had 0 referrals from real estate agents. My friend who recommended him to me said that her agent tried to talk her out of using this home inspector because she knew his reputation of doing a good job for the buyer.
Back to my father who got is money back from the home inspector. The problems in the house were so bad that he got out of buying the house all together. 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.
I should just be amazed that my father was able to find one of the very few bad home inspectors out there.
I should just be amazed that my father was able to find one of the very few bad home inspectors out there.
In my state, it is necessary to take a 60 hour course and past a test to be eligible for licensing as a home inspector. During the boom, the number of home inspectors quadrupled. All of a sudden, inspectors with 10,000+ home inspections under their belt were competing for business with the newly licensed home inspector, fresh from the 60 hour class.
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.
They assumed that all inspectors are the same. Consumers tend to do this with real estate agents, too. It's easier for the general public to make such assumptions and then use the results to rationalize those generalizations.
I don't want what I have said being taken out of context. I have NOT condemned ALL home inspectors and I never said that in my original post.
I said that I agree (dead-on) with #7. The home inspector that I hired is proud of the fact that he has had 0 referrals from real estate agents. My friend who recommended him to me said that her agent tried to talk her out of using this home inspector because she knew his reputation of doing a good job for the buyer.
I totally misunderstood your post as I thought you were talking about one scenario with your dad.
Hopefully the home inspector you hired gets enough business to pay the bills. Personally I think being proud of zero referrals isn't something to be proud of. When I come across a good nit picky home inspector with a good personality, I want to refer them. What that tells me is that agents don't want to refer this home inspector. The fact is that the more homes a home inspector goes into and inspects the more knowledge base he has. I would be worried that if a home inspector isn't getting any referrals from agents that his business isn't robust enough to give him the depth of experience that I want in my inspectors that I make referrals for. I want to refer my clients to inspectors that are in and out of homes ALL DAY long. I want the home inspector that has inspected 3,000 homes, not the one that has done 50.
Either your dad had bad luck in picking a home inspector or he didn't pick his real estate agent very well.
In my state, it is necessary to take a 60 hour course and past a test to be eligible for licensing as a home inspector. During the boom, the number of home inspectors quadrupled. All of a sudden, inspectors with 10,000+ home inspections under their belt were competing for business with the newly licensed home inspector, fresh from the 60 hour class.
Ours have an internship here as well. I can't remember how many home inspections that have to go on with a licensed inspector who then teaches them on the job.
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.
Ours have an internship here as well. I can't remember how many home inspections that have to go on with a licensed inspector who then teaches them on the job.
Actually most state laws are relaxed as it relates to home inspector licencing/certification. Most of the standards / internships come out of trade associations, like The American Society of Home Inspectors ( ASHI).
Actually most state laws are relaxed as it relates to home inspector licencing/certification. Most of the standards / internships come out of trade associations, like The American Society of Home Inspectors ( ASHI).
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.
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.
Absolutely!
Thorough and informative.
I usually throw in "articulate."
The true "deal-breaker" is the surly, drama-master who strikes fear in the hearts of clients without defining the issue.
They are too often the guys who send discount coupons to real estate offices hoping to find an agent who has a price-sensitive client looking for something cheap.
The guy I quit using:
Inarticulate with clients.
Imprecise with language.
Proud enough to get surly if I pointed something out or asked a question.
He was mostly thorough enough, generally, but wrote a poor report and wouldn't give clients a direct phone number for further discussion.
I tired of that guy rapidly.
Another guy who ran the gangplank real quickly:
Tried to get out of going under the home because it was raining, and the termite guy said it was a tight crawl.
Wrote such a bad report, it did not indicate several significant items he pointed out during the inspection, and was imprecise in disclosing many other defects.
Turns out he prefers new homes and upscale homes. Fine. But if you take the job, do the dang job!
The thing about the agent's inspector referrals?
We get to see the best and the worst, and all in between, from both sides of the transaction. With knowledge attained from many inspections, we are in a position to weed out the worst.
If a Buyer wants a Repair Request or a termination of contract negotiated, and plans to select their own inspector without real knowledge of their ability, a poor quality report can cripple the agent's ability to do the job right.
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