Home Inspections & Home Inspectors

Tonight, I listened to Frank Wible's Real Estate Show on WNJC 1360 AM, Real Estate News Radio. He dealt with the subject of the HOME INSPECTION. I have written about home inspections here before in this blog, and I am sure I will write about it over and over and over again. The guest on the show was Brian Connelly, the owner of Safe and Sound Home Inspections, whom I have had a good experience with on two recent occasions.

The result of the first inspection, with Brian, was for my client to pull out of the contract and re-coup his deposit money. The second inspection resulted in renegotiating the contract and moving forward.

There were several topics that were of interest to me. I may be using the words: "First" and "next", but may actually have them out of sequential order. First, they discussed whether your Realtor should go to the inspection with you or not. I can answer this question. Unless, it is impossible, I like to be there. I have never missed one. In fact, I have attended more than a couple without the client, when the client could not make it. On the show, there was not agreement on the answer to this question. In all fairness, they had valid points on each side of the debate. The answer, for me, however, is that I will be there as long it is humanly possible.

There are several reasons I like to be there. Primarily, I like to get a read on how serious any issue might be. I feel like I may not get that same read from a report. I think it benefits my clients in negotiations for me to know first hand what the issues look like. Also, I want to make sure that estimates will be given for corrections needed. The estimates given for the corrections provide a better ability to negotiate some kind of agreement post inspection with the seller.

Further, I want to be at the inspection to see "how" the home inspector is relating to my client. I have had good experiences and bad experiences on this front. I had one home inspector only point out what was wrong with the property. He really upset my client. It was a beautiful home, and he forgot to mention anything good about it. The house was beautifully finished, and very high end. None of the problems, the home inspector found, were out of the ordinary or shocking. Everything was correctable, and would be able to be dealt with on some equitable basis with the listing agent and seller. But the delivery was such that it really frightened my buyer.

I have worked with one inspector more than a few times, who sits my client down at the end of the inspection and goes through the serious problems he has found, and then follows with everything good and promising about the property. I like this process, because it makes my client face the problems and reality, and then get back to what they loved enough about the house to want to make it their home in the first place.

They also discussed what a buyer should expect from the seller as a result of the home inspection. The answer to this question, in my view is very, very complicated, and I was going to address it tonight, but think now, that I will leave it for another time, because it is a complicated issue at many levels.

I will say, however, there are times when an issue is serious enough, and what I mean by that is "expensive enough to correct" that it does not make sense for the buyer to go through with the deal. What you need to make sure of is that your Realtor includes an inspection contingency in your offer for both home and wood infestation, and perhaps other inspections like Radon, Water, etc.. This offer, when signed and fully executed, will become your Agreement of Sale or Sales Contract. If you prepare your offer with these contingencies, you will be able to re-coup your deposit money if the inspections report something that is too expensive to cure.

Also, make sure when hiring a home inspector that the home inspector is willing to take the risk of giving estimates. Some inspectors are too concerned with the liability associated with giving estimates that they don't or won't give them. If they are not going to give you estimates, pick up the phone and call someone else.