So You Want to Be A Home Inspector?

Agent/Inspector Relations.

// April 15th, 2009 // No Comments » // Become a home inspector

Through the years talking to other home inspectors in my area and around the country, I hear all kinds of different opinions about real estate agents. Some inspectors love them, some are neutral, and some actually hate them! The latter one amazes me to no end. I feel that I am going to ruffle some feathers here, but the one thing that you will always get with this blog is my honest opinion.

Your number one priority is your client. You should always do the best inspection that you are capable of for your client. That is your job. . . . .that is what your are expected to do . . . . . that is what you are getting paid to do and that is the ethical way to run your business. Period.

Now does this mean that you are against the seller? No. Against the buyer’s real estate agent? No. How about the seller’s real estate agent? Again, no. Now listen, we are already assuming that as stated above that you are doing the best job for your client. Doing the best job though, does not mean that you are rude or mean to the other parties involved. I hear stories from real estate agents and inspectors themselves telling me how they do not talk to the agents or they do not acknowledge the sellers if they ask a question. Are you serious? I even know of an inspector that does not allow anyone to be at the inspection with him. Well, let me clarify this, the buyer can be there. . . . but they have to stay in their car!

I am not saying that you need to be friends with everyone, but how about friendly? As long as you keep your primary purpose in mind, (doing the best inspection that you can for your client) I don’t see why you can’t still be friendly with everyone else. I firmly believe that the house should write the report. Anything that is on my report is because that’s the condition of the house, good or bad. If you keep that in mind, you will always be consistent and you will always be accurate. The problem that some inspectors have is being wishy washy about what they are going to write up depending on what agent is there or if the seller is breathing down their neck. You are not always going to be liked, but if you are always honest and consistent, you will be respected. I’ve had many clients hire me after I inspected a house that they were selling. I had a guy tell me that he hated me while I was at his house, but he also knew that whenever he needed an inspection, he was going tom use me!

As you become a home inspector and get some experience under your belt, you will see that there are numerous personalities that you will face. Some you will think are great, others will just rub you the wrong way. Part of being a great home inspector is being able to be pleasant with everyone, even if you want to just tell them to get lost! Being a great inspector and finding all deficiencies in the house is only part of the equation, you must have good people skills too.

So being friendly with agents isn’t the problem. The problem is letting an agent sway your decision on what to write on your inspection report. Do your job consistently and you will never have a problem with agent relationships. The good ones will respect you, the ones that try to get you to “go easy” on the house don’t care about you or your company anyways. And if you think about it, they don’t really care about their buyer either. They ones that do care, want the best inspection for their clients that they can get. Please let me know your thoughts on this subject.

Don’t touch that dial! . . . . . or should I say handle?

// April 15th, 2009 // No Comments » // Become a home inspector

Well today I want to talk about another trait of a great home inspector. Knowing to keep your hands to yourself unless you have permission! Today on my second inspection, the gas meter was not in place, so that means there was no heat. It was around 30 degrees today and snowing in Pittsburgh. The house was like a meat locker. The water was off, because no heat = frozen water pipes in my neck of the woods. Well, the buyer was upset that there was no gas on to check the furnace, waterheater, gas lines, etc. I told him that with the gas off, we can not turn the water on, and we would be unable to check the plumbing. I suggested that we reschedule and come back when we could do a proper inspection.

His father had taken the day off to come to the inspection for moral support and they really wanted to do as much as could be done today. The buyer’s agent called the seller’s agent who got permission from the seller for us to turn the water on. I was against turning it on, although with the permission of the seller. . . . . regardless of any damage that might be caused, I slowly turned it on. To make a long post short.

Water on for around 30 seconds. . . . . water leaking through gameroom ceiling into basement and saturating new carpet! I was thinking, I told you so, although kept my mouth shut. We turned the water off, contacted the seller, and cut the inspection short. What do you think would of happened if I turned it on, without permission? I would be paying to repair a ceiling, dry the carpeting and padding or possible replacement!

Moral of the story. Never, ever turn on shut off valves without permission. If they are off, it is usually for a reason. This goes for gas valves too, which can be even more dangerous. The utilities should be on for you when you arrive at the inspection. If they are off, don’t try and be a nice guy and turn them on without the ok to do it. If you do, you are only playing with fire. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Talk to you soon.

What Makes A Great Home Inspector?

// April 15th, 2009 // No Comments » // Become a home inspector

Well if you are going to become a home inspector, why not be a great home inspector? Lets talk about what it takes to be great. First off the obvious, you have to know how to do your job, you have to know what is right and what is wrong with houses. There are a million different courses and training programs out there, which we will get into at a later time. As much as a good training program is important, hands on experience is where you will really learn, though. (more…)