Have you ever heard a Realty agent ranting about the problems caused by an inspectors report which lead to stressed negotiations about repair agreements? We have more than once.
There are some Inspectors that go to the extreme, just as there are relators and home buyers who support extremes. There are home inspectors with engineering designation who miss visible issues that can be detrimental to your financial investment. It is safe to say that no one position offers a guarantee that a home will be worry free.
Good inspectors don’t make or break the deal. They don’t even get involved in the deal. They simply report, inform what they do see and what they do not see and why they cannot see?
We recently encountered a situation where one inspector told a prospective buyer that there might be mould in the attic but a mould inspection was not necessary. This inspector may have been a little extreme in his caution. The prospective buyer and his realtor suggested that the sellers put on a new roof with new insulation then they would finalize the deal at the seller’s price. Of course you can imagine that the sellers would not consider the offer even if they were getting their asking price. They had lived in the home for half a decade without issue. For their peace of mind, they instead called for a mould inspection from Iron View Inspections who sent the test samples to an independent lab. They learned there was not a moisture problem in the attic which would promote mould growth. They also learned that the mould spore count that might be present on materials and in the air was no more harmful than the mould we breathe daily indoors at work or carry into our home on our shoes and pet hair from outdoors. Their home sold to another buyer at their asking price a week later. They moved on with peace in the knowledge from that minimal cost to have a Pre-sale and mould inspection, that they were not living in a home with mould issues or selling a home with issues that might come back to haunt them after selling.
Another situation that we encountered not long ago was an agent representing the prospective buyer during the inspection. The agent, not even a third of the way through reading the report, anxiously accused our inspector of being too thorough and therefore heading toward killing the deal he had worked so hard to put together. Our inspector took extra time to meet with the prospective buyer to explain the reasons for listing all maintenance issues, explaining the minimal cost to get his maximum return on the investment. The prospective buyer was very grateful and became an owner, for the first time, of an investment property and has called our inspector back to report on his next investment.
A reasonable buying agent will inform a prospective buyer that a good inspector will include on inspection reports advisories at specific points of reference so that monitoring of given systems or the possibility of a future issue can be dealt with successfully and at minimal cost. All buildings have systems with their own unique issues that will need maintenance down the road. A good inspector will report such items on his report.
It is very crucial to remember that clients make a decision to buy a home or property because they like it. Once the offer is made they want to take a cautionary attitude and be sure that their investment is worthy. An inspector is hired to find issues the client or the realtor may not be able to discover on their own.Many sellers are now considering Pre-sale inspections to inform themselves of issues that may be present in their homes that might deter quick sale.
~Be As Informed As You Can Be~
Let us know what you think.