TOPIC: Inspection Minutiae

Everyone - It is spring around here and I am finding poison ivy in 3 or 4 out of every 5 yards.  I make it a point to show the buyer(s) where it is and what it looks like.  I don't do it to cover myself, just to be an informative, good neighbor (they're all my neighbors, right?).  I even put it on the report.  I also tell them when small things that are planted too close to the house or sidewalk will get big and do damage, and other such info.  Now, with important inspection items I always go into detail on the report, but this is kind of fluff, though nice guy, minutiae.  My clients always seem to appreciate it.  Do you go into such detail like this for non-inspection kinds of things?  I'm just checking around.  Jay Markanich

Jay,
That's awesome!  Your customers appreciate that especially given the fact you're saving some from probable heart-ache with children getting into it!  Nice!
Greg

Greg - I have had a bunch just this week.  One yard was almost 1/2 acre in back and really full of the stuff.  Three little children and a husband who wanted to "clear out the back."  They had no idea.  Everyone appreciates it I think.

I am a Boy Scoutmaster and each year we go to Goshen Scout Camp in the boonies in Virginia.  First day, we take them on the "Poison Ivy Trail."  It saves a lot of problems a couple of days later.  FYI - there is a spray than handles poison ivy without killing other plants around it.  If you run across it on your inspections you can tell that to your clients.  If you get it on yourself, wash with dishwasher soap and COLD water.  Hot water sets the oils.  There are chemicals you can put on and shower with, but I am not partial to chemicals on my skin.  It is simplest just to know what you are looking at!

Great tips and thanks!  I was in scouting as well when I was stationed in Germany.  By default I became the scoutmaster at the ripe age of 24--I had scouts nearly my age!  We went to summer camp at Camp Tuscany (Pisa, Italy).  We took the train.  What an experience!
Greg

I normally point all these things out when I walk through the property with the client at the end of the inspection. I sometimes put it in the report if the client is out of state/country at the time of inspection. A lot of this added information is really well received by the client because it is something they can understand. The home inspection gets a little overwhelming sometimes with all the technical stuff, but they really  seem to jump  into the helpful information you provide. Suggestions on maintaining the property helps the property retain its value. I give my clients permission to call me at any time for the rest of their life after they pay for their home inspection. I often get numerous calls, years later from my clients. They hang on to my business card anticipating my future expertise for a long time and generally pass on my information to their friends and family when they come up with a problem they can't solve  or are considering buying a home. When you expand their knowledge base beyond just the home inspection, you become "the answer Guy". People remember this stuff more than anything. A valuable resource even in the presence of the Internet.

I wholly agree David!  Your business sounds like mine - we need to keep on keeping on...  I also give them lists of Seasonal Chores and tell them that maintenance in the long-run is about 1% of the value of a home.  Most people are shocked to hear that!!

I like the logo under your info - self portrait...?  Say, is that a spelunker's hat?