As long as I have been an inspector, and longer than any of the inspectors that I know have been inspecting, there has been the notion that home inspectors have to act a certain way so as to “not blow the deal.”
I have known for a long time that there is really no way to adequately predict what will freak out a buyer.
I know of no fool-proof way to say: “There are rodents in the attic.” Sure some inspectors have better people skills than others—-but still it can happen where the inspector inadvertently freaks out the buyer. The inspector does not have to come out of the attic running and screaming: “There are rats in the attic and it is disgusting and smells really, really, bad—-and I stepped on one and squashed it all over the place!” Often the accusation of “blowing the deal” is less extreme and would likely not have been an issue had the buyer been better prepared about what buying and owning a home is all about beforehand.
Agents do sometimes counsel inspectors to discuss things without hysteria, to keep reports short, to only report on “serious issues,” and to not nit-pick. That said, can the inspector really afford to listen to any of this? Is it really in the best interest of the buyer, the agent, or the inspector to “pretend” to know what is important or not important to the buyer? Doesn’t it make more sense to simply report: “IT ALL”—-and let the buyer decide what is important to them?
This is where it becomes imperative that the agent, and the inspector, adequately prepare the buyer for what to expect (and not expect) in terms of the inspection.
Most of the whining about inspections that I hear is due to lack of information—-not because of too much information. If the buyer is not given enough information before the inspection, almost anything can be too much information after the inspection.
I think both agents and inspectors are too often inadequately trained in how to prepare the buyer for what is coming.
Sometimes there is not enough time, due to short contingency periods, or other “pressures” to get the inspection done “yesterday” or get the report back “yesterday.” I realize that most agents don’t even think this is their job. It is these very agents that seem to think the inspector has gone over the top and blown the deal—–when the buyer is ready to jump ship. This is exacerbated in today’s market where there is not another house right around the next corner when the deal goes south.
It becomes easy to blame the inspector for not handling the inspection properly; and often, the agent could have done more themselves to improve the likelihood of an outcome they would have found more favorable.
The inspector must focus on telling the full story of the house. This means that “ultimately” the inspector cannot afford to focus on whether the sale goes through or not—-or what particular information is necessary or not. To do so would color what they are there to do—-to inspect the house and provide the best possible information without bias or prejudice—-and I like to think that most do so without acting like a bull in a china closet—–the same way most agents only want what is best for their buyer.
I have come up with a way to eliminate this whole ugly phenomenon—-that nasty point where the buyer panics because they come face to face with the reality that the house they have fallen in love with was a mistake. They have kissed the frog and it has NOT turned into the prince—-and now someone is going to “pay.”
This is where a good Pre-Purchase Marriage Counselor could help—-to have a Pre-Listing inspection done on the house. Buyers and their agents would then know the vast majority of stuff even before they called for their own inspection and the number of surprises would go WAY down. They would have a far better idea whether this house was in fact the Prince or not.
All future Princes (and Princesses for that matter) come with a certain amount of risk but it certainly behooves us to do our homework. While on occasion “love and first sight” works—more often, we are looking through rose colored glasses and are perfectly willing to delude ourselves for a variety of reasons.
Of course I have to think that the reason this does not happen is because so much of the business of selling real estate seems a little like an “Ostrich with its head in the sand.” Somehow there is the notion that the inspector is just not going to find anything wrong with the “Prince.” This is evidenced in the all too common phrase that inspectors hear: “The house is perfect, you won’t find anything wrong.”
It may seem innocent enough, but this sort of statement places considerable pressure on the inspector. What is the buyer to think of their agent if there are in fact many things wrong with the house? How does the agent get out of this predicament gracefully? Sometimes the answer might be, “at the inspector’s expense.”
By Charles Buell, Real Estate Inspections in Seattle
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Charles, I love how you blend humor with reality and get the point across.
You hit the nail directly on the head. We as experienced inspectors (most of us hopefully) are to report our findings without alarming, but also without down playing some serious issues.
I’ve been inspecting properties for nearly 16 years and I have been labeled a “Deal Killer” by many agents, not because I alarm, but because of my thoroughness.
I don’t kill deals. The buyers and sellers kill deals because they are unable to negotiate.
If a “Deal Killer” is an inspector who informs the client of the property’s condition, and who reports on not only what is wrong, but also what is right with the home,,,,,,then I guess maybe I am a deal killer.
My favorite comeback for agents or buyers wanting me to change my report is smiply OK. I had a buyer wanting me to change all recommneds to required?! To make all my comments “Required”. After a few changes going back and forth with the buyer to word the report their way, I did a 180 degree turn and wrote the report with changes that commented that “buyers opioion” on the required items, giving credit due to the buyer and releiving me of the credit. Needless to the the Buyer called me back again and ask me to change the report again without mentioning the Buyers required. Luckily I kept my first report, deleted the Buyers changes report and sent back my report with my recommendations. I concluded to the Buyer this report is my opinion based on my training and expertise. Thats what a report is The inspectors opinion, if the buyer wants to reword my discovereies they have the oppurtunity to do so through their agent by chaning their wording to the addendum to the sales contract. Thats the norm, as the seller rarely sees the inspectors report. How many agents copy inspectors wording word per word without interpreting it and rewording on the addendum? From that it is no longer the inspectors report or opinion. End results, the Buyer or agent did not want to be liable for the word changes from Recommended to Required, and accepted my report with out the changes as I wrote it in the first place. I further emphazied the report is subject to my interpretation between buyer and inspector only, it is not public or 3rd party information unless approved by me. Any similair feed backs you expierenced along confused buyer or seller report interpretations?
Yes Stephen, I often see my recommendations “reworded” to the point of meaninglessness. In my opinion they should never be reworded as the agent or whoever is rewording the report is then taking on responsibility for those recommendations.