TOPIC: Being a Deal Killer

I was just on the phone with a Realtor that I have known for a very long time. I was getting her take on Home Inspectors and what the average agent looks for in an inspector. Her reply was that you cannot be a Deal Killer. Her point was that there was a concern as to how things were portrayed to the client as to not alarm them. Further into the conversation she stated that inspectors are always putting thing out for further evaluation. This agent feels that if it needs further evaluation, then why did I hire you. I felt during the conversation that I was being told in so many words to be agent friendly. (wink, wink, nudge, nudge)

As some might know from my initial post on these boards, I am not yet a licensed inspector. I should have all of this wrapped up by April 1st. I am finishing a mentoring program that NJ requires for licensing. The inspector that I mentor with is not as critical as I would be or as we are taught in school. It is almost as if he is afraid of being a Deal Killer.

So, yes this is leading to a point. Have any of you been labeled as a Deal Killer? How important are RE Agents to your business or do you get most of your business direct from clients? Has being called a Deal Killer hurt your business?

So, in entering the inspection world in April, I know how I was taught to be by the book. I also have my own thoughts about how I am hired by the client not the agent. The agent probably won't show up on my behalf when an agent friendly report goes to Court.

How do you guys that have been doing this a while balance the client and the agent?

Well I haven't been doing this all too long either but here is my take on things.

We inspectors can word things in a positive or negative manner when we find something wrong.  Also we should point things out that are above standard too.  But I also don't hear any Realtors praise any of use for pointing out items that might be above standard. 

Down to the nitty gritty, Realtors don't give a rip about you or me.  They want the sale!  If that means putting our butts on the line with weak inspections, that fine by them.  As for you and I, how long are we going to stay in business if we don't do our jobs.  Realtors have insurance pools they can turn to if they get sued.  We don't!

As for why they hire you, tell them its much cheaper to hire you than it would be to hire a licensed plumber, HVAC, electrician, structural engineer, roofer, and anything else I couldn't think of.  Or you could put it another way, why do they go to a family doctor when they are sick?  Why don't they just go to every specialist in the medical field?

And if they call you a "Deal Killer", tell them you didn't kill the deal, the house did, or better yet the seller did for putting the house in that condition, or even better, the Realtor did for not putting the house on the market for the appropriate price for the condition of the house.

Home Inspectors by law have certain criteria to meet, and that's just what we are doing.  If inspectors are doing weak inspections they are not doing their job.

Drew,

It's going to happen to you at some point no matter what, accept that now and be prepared for it. Figure out good responses like 'If I don't point out all the facts then I could be legally held liable in court. If you hired someone who didn't point all the facts knowing they'd go easy, you could be liable too.'

There's also different forms of Deal Killers. For example, I've seen inspectors put almost every comment into the Red (serious) area of Home Inspector Pro. This puts it on the Summary page which is meant for deficient items and for most guys are the things that should looked at before escrow closes. There's really no reason for things like a missing light plate switch to be in the red section. Adding tons of things into this area creates a longer summary which makes it look like there are more serious issues than there really are. I think there's a happy medium in there you have to find. Also doing things like changing your Summary page to have the items in Green rather than Red can have an impact as a few agents have seen Red as being an alarmist. It really depends on how you write your report as well.

Stick to the fact. Point out all the problems you see. Try not to blow things out of proportion and you'll be fine. If you still have an occasional agent calling you a deal killer, then you've done your job well. You won't be getting any referrals from the agent, but you won't be getting sued either.

I know inspectors who do detailed reports and still do 2-3 inspections a day 6 days a week and most are real estate agent referred. It's just all in how you present yourself, and what you're doing. You are protecting the client AND the agent!

Dom you are so calm and level headed!  lol 

I like the idea of changing the color to green.  I think I may look into that!

Comes with the territory Also helps that I spent quite a few years teaching (math and computers) and running the schools computer network. This meant dealing with upset parents, and other teachers. Gotta learn to be chill......

Changing the color is under Report Settings->Formatting.

Another thing you can do is move the Summary to the end of the report. This ensures the client reads the entire report first and has an overall feel before they see the summary at the end.

Drew - your job is to observe and report.

You work for and are paid by the client.

I had some things to say on a house once that were not flattering.  Very unprofessional work.  The agent present called me the next day.  It turned out she was working both sides of the deal - for the seller and buyer - and did not appreciate my use of the word "unprofessional" on my report.  The seller, who had done the work, was offended.  I asked if he was a professional at all the work he had done on the house (which was not at ALL professional).  He was not.  What else would I say?  She had no answer.

She also did not say anything about being a dual agent on this house.  That was not professional either...

She has not called me back since.  The buyers, her clients too, dropped her like a hot potato and called me a week later for another house.  THEY were very grateful.  I picked up their new agent as a client too.

I have said for years that houses kill deals, home inspectors don't.  Sometimes the thing about the house that kills the deal is improper disclosure, or no disclosure at all -- like being a dual agent or doing work that should have had a permit but did not.  In my area, professionals can get permits... when homeowners do they must sign an affidavit that they accept responsibility.  Most homeowners don't want that and don't get the permits.  Then, when a home inspector shows up, they are "offended" when something is labeled unprofessional.   Hmmmm....