TOPIC: A Tale Of Two Inspectors

I had two different phone calls this week, from clients.

They could not have been more different.

The first was from a Realtor who met me on an inspection.  Her client chose me as his inspector on the recommendation of an office partner for whom I recently also did an inspection.  This Realtor recommended someone different, but her client (and my client) wanted me to do it.

They both were with me the entire inspection.  They both watched me carefully.  They both listened intently to everything I said.  At the conclusion the Realtor said,

"Wow, you are Inspector Gadget!  You look for things I have never seen an inspector look for before.  When you find something you have a gadget to evaluate it.  You have gadgets I have never seen any inspector use before.  Why haven't I heard of you before?"

I was thinking, "Geez, lady, what have you been using to do your home inspections!?"

But, instead, I said, "Thank you!  I don't know, I have been around here a long time!  Next time I think you should call me when you need an inspection!"

The second call was from a client for whom I did an inspection a couple of months ago.  She was angry.

"Since we moved in we have had to fix many things on this house!  I am very disappointed with my home inspection and with you as my home inspector!"

I can say with certainty, no inspector likes to hear this!!

So I said, "When did I do your inspection?"  I looked up her report. "What is going on with your house?"

She began with her list.  I looked on the report.  Everything she mentioned was because some trade professional had been to the house and pointed it out to her.  "How come they can find these things and you couldn't?  They said this all should have been caught on a home inspection!"

Each time she mentioned something wrong, I looked on my report.  Not only was it there, it was there in BOLD!  On my report, bold indicates something that demands immediate attention because it can be dangerous, lethal, very expensive to fix, affect habitability, and get worse as it will be ongoing.  I pointed that out to her.

"Oh..."  (At this point you should be hearing the song "Silence Is Golden, Golden..."

This is a person who, during the inspection, was not with me the entire time, did not watch carefully, did not listen hardly at all to anything I had to say.  She was bored.  And she had never read the report, obviously!

For her I was a different inspector!

My recommendation: Pay attention to your inspector during the inspection.  Watch what he does.  Listen carefully to what he has to say and read, read, read the report!  And take care of the serious problems BEFORE you move in!

Totally agree, saves your butt sometimes to. I did an inspection the other day and the furnace had a very bad gas leak at the control. It was near the burners so I shut the furnace down and called it out. The HVAC guy told the listing agent that I must have broke it trying to inspect it, because it could not have run this way for long. This home had been inspected two times in the last few months and fell through due to loan qualifications. Listing agent told the selling agent I must have done this and a couple of other items I found because the other inspectors didn't find anything. My clients were there to witness it all!!

You know what happens when people ASSume...

Totally agree, saves your butt sometimes to. I did an inspection the other day and the furnace had a very bad gas leak at the control. It was near the burners so I shut the furnace down and called it out. The HVAC guy told the listing agent that I must have broke it trying to inspect it, because it could not have run this way for long. This home had been inspected two times in the last few months and fell through due to loan qualifications. Listing agent told the selling agent I must have done this and a couple of other items I found because the other inspectors didn't find anything. My clients were there to witness it all!!

I guess inspecting  can set you up for some hostility. Not nice.

It definitely can, it can also set you up for great rewards. Just make sure your cover yourself!