I'll preface this post by saying that I always advise my buyers to hire a home inspector and have a thorough inspection done on the property they've decided to purchase. Additionally, I always add,
"I wouldn't buy a house without getting an inspection done!".
Then, I give my buyers the contact info. for 3 inspectors that I know and love, one of whom is the inspector I used for my own residence. I tell 'em that since they have the right to use any inspector they want, they should not feel obligated to use my list (and might want to ask family or friends for a recommendation or even use the Yellow Pages or the internet, if they so desire).
O.K., now that all of the disclosures are out of the way -- this is the story of the buyer who went on-line to find the...
Inspector Extraordinaire, 
The Inspector of all Inspectors,
The Inspecto-rama-nator-inator,
The guy who took 6 & 1/2 hours to inspect a 1100 square foot, 22 year old house.
I am not pulling your leg this wonderful New Year's Eve.
When this kook was done, he had nearly 6 pages of single-spaced, type-written "issues" with the house --
Yes, if you're counting (and as anal analytical as myself) that would translate to slightly less than 1 page o' issues per hour.
I had a home that was missing an anti-tip bracket on the stove (among a million other things) and a first-time buyer that was completely wigged out.
She didn't know her elbow from her...
But, I digress.
Guys, I've been doing this real estate thing for a minute or two and, although I am not an inspector, I've attended an inspection or two over the years. Subsequently, I've come to one conclusion --
It does not take 6 hours to inspect an 1100 square foot house.
It doesn't.
The purpose of the home inspection, and thus the inspector, is to inform the buyer. The buyer needs to know about the condition of the house and the inspector is there to help uncover any structural and/or mechanical defects within the property. Additionally, the inspector should be there to explain to the buyer that some things are truly repairs that need to be addressed by the sellers, yet other things are upgrades that the buyer should be alerted to, and still other things are maintenance issues that the buyer should be aware of having to do at certain intervals.
There are differences between repairs, upgrades, and maintenance items.
Granted, deferred maintenance items on the part of the seller, could indeed become a bonafide repair item at any given inspection -- don't get me wrong. However, I do not need Inspector Alarmist to provide a laundry list of everything that's wrong w/this house without tempering the issues. My job is hard enough. It's his job to put everything into perspective and not leave my buyer with her head spinning.
My buyer ran from this house. Literally.
She did not buy it or the other 2 houses that this kooky inspector inspected.
And he's not on my list of 3 contacts, either (never was, never will be).
All that to say -- A good home inspector is truly a buyer's best friend. Don't buy a home without one. I wouldn't.
Lanette all I can say is "wow"... I would want to beat him up... I have several inspectors that I use, and I trust them to be thorough and test for safety issues and point out those things, but a bracket on a stove, WOW... sorry it didn't work out with the buyer
Of course, the theory could be that by killing the deal there will be more houses to inspect FOR THE SAME BUYER!
Featured in the group "Whacked!!!"
Kim - thanks for stopping by. I didn't beat him up but I wanted to. Interestingly enough, after seeing 3 inspection reports from this guy, I noticed a weird pattern; lots of the very same ridiculous things came up on all 3!
Are you a buyer's agent with a signed agency agreement? If so, you have no obligation to give out 3 names of inspectors. That is the old way of doing business under sub-agency for the seller. As designated buyers' agents, we offer "one-stop" shopping and provide the potential homebuyer complete service with our established preferred vendor relationships that we know will provide for a smooth and painless transaction.
You sound smart enough to know that this home inspection should not have taken 6hrs to complete. Before presenting his report, I would have directed the inspector to present his report in separate sections (yes, YOU can control this relationship) - "needs immediate correction", "things to consider" and "FYI". Then, before saying anything to the buyer, I would tell the buyer, in front of the inspector, something like "Before the inspector goes into detail about his report, I want to ensure that you don't misunderstand the content of his report. Mr. Inspector, based on your findings, would you allow your grandmother to move into this house?".
After gathering his response, the rest takes care of itself. And you look like the hero. Try it next time!
Lanette,
I had a similar experience, not 6 hours, but 3 hours on about the same size home. This guy was trying to prove how "intelligent" he was by explaining every little detail about every little thing. He actually asked me to leave the property because the information was privliged to the buyer only and my buyer would be the only person entitled to one and the buyer could send it on to whoever they wanted. My buyers were actually embarassed of the home inspector they chose. It was rediculous, An inspector is there to point out issues with the home, not make suggestions or guestimates on how much they will costs. I feel for you. It is important to find good home inspectors. I work with a home inspector who is the best home inspector, he is thorugh and honest and tells the homeowner what issues are serious and what issues are not worth worrying about.
Richard - thanks for the feature! I'm honored!
BTW, he made over 1K from this one buyer, so I see where you're going w/that...
Lanette,
Will your buyers use the same inspector on the next house they're considering buying? As a consolation: I don't think the guy will be able to stay in business long. A 2400 sq.ft. house would take him two days to inspect :)
Sandy
Martin - I hear you, but I won't touch that one w/a 10 ft. pole. I'm all about CMA (and that is NOT an acronym for Comparitive Market Analysis!). I've been bitten in the butt more than enough times to know that I need to give my buyers a choice and let them make the decision about the inspector, the title co., the lender, and everything else (with my knowledgeable counsel, of course).
I appreciate the rest of your comment, too. I do say something similar to what you mentioned, but it obviously fell on deaf ears in this case?!
How does that inspector stay in business? Maybe he does many first time inspections with agents, but I can't imagine any repeat business. I too give out 3 names. I don't want to be responsible if my buyer doesn't like my inspector of choice. However, if my buyer went out on their own and came to me with this guy's name I would put an end to that quickly with this story. Eventually eliminating his future business potential.
Lenette, I am all about avoiding the anal retentive inspector. However, regarding the anti tip device on the stove, just picture a big holiday celebration in the new house. The whole family is there, stove top full of food, cooking away. The oven door is opened to baste that big turkey and oops. I'm just sayin.
You should always give the buyer at least three vendors to chose from, regardless of your relationship with them. CMA indeed!
Lanette - 6 hours has got to be the record for an average sized house. I thought I had it rough, when a home inspector took well over 4 hours, and also put his foot through the ceiling in the hallway, as he was checking out the attic. Your story proves if you are in our business any length of time at all, you can have some real war stories to tell. Happy New Years to you!
Hi Lanette;
I just got back into the office and noticed your blog comments on the six hour inspection. I'm in the home inspection business in Houston and believe it or not, I feel your pain.
The worst types of inspectors we have in our business are the new guy's who just got their license. He takes too long to do the inspection, because he has no idea what he should be looking for. The other type is the old timer who prides himself on how many faults (no matter how small) he can find with a property. I've even overheard some of these old guys's brag about how many deals they kill.
The problem, (or maybe solution) from a business standpoint, with both of these types of inspectors is, that this person can't stay in business for long.
As inspectors we should always list the issues within the house; however we should also explain to the buyer/client what is important, which in most cases is usually a fairly short list.
On occasion I will have an agent tell me they never give out inspector's names to their buyers. This is crazy, if I'm an agent I want to control the transaction from start to finish. You want an inspector who is through but also brings the findings of the inspection into reality.
When recommending an inspector it is difficult to find one that does a thorough job, (protecting your reputation) and one who can communicate their findings in a non scary way.
Jim
Http://www.YourHomeInspector.com
Lannette,
I want my clients to be served very well when it comes to a home inspection. However, there are inspectors that go overboard. I agree that I want them to point out ALL deficient items. But come on.....there is a limit. I had one inspector point out that the slabs in the sidewalk were askew. Not cracked, not slanted, but askew. He pointed out so many minor things, that my client just like yours walked away from a perfectly good home.
Needless to say, he is no longer on my short list. I want my clients protected, but don't be ridiculous.
Happy New Year
Make This Your Best Year Ever
Leander
ARgh!!
There is was an inspection company in my neck of the woods that pride(d) itself on "killing" X number of deals!! Notice I said "was" as they have gone out of business. Perhaps I was not the only REALTOR that did their best to NOT use that company!
That is just not good business!! Great post though, thanks for sharing! ~A:)
Lanette,
You said it right... a GOOD inspector is a buyers best friend. Just like Realtors, there are good and bad home inspectors... it's an unfortunate nature of the beast. There is an inspector in our town that brags that he is the sellers " Worst Nightmare...."!" An inspection is what it is, and the house can speak for itself once the condition is known... I love to come away from a house saying that I do not have any issues to note.... Granted it doesn't happen much, but I do like to see it. I have said it before, but Perception is the key to this business. Every house has issues of some kind, how you present them, and more importantly how your first time buyer will absorb them along with all the numbers they are looking at with financing, closing, inspecting, appraising, surveying, (and don't forget, their famed uncle/cousin or brother who framed houses 20 years ago has to put his 2 cents in....) you and they don't need the stress. Chalk it up to a lesson of hard knocks and do exactly what you did, take him off your list and inform those around you so they don't fall victim too!
Lanette: Ive been in the biz for 20 years in the area and I think I know who they called he is first in the phone book because his company starts with an A and his name begins with an R and he is a fool from the word go. I have heard him say he aims to make the agents cry. Do I have the guy????
Kelly Willey
Kelly - BaHa! ROTFLMAO! You mean there's another one running around willy-nilly killing deals for the sport of it?! You are funny as he!!
The guy I'm talking about? First name D, Company name M - and that is all you're getting from me on that! Actually if you call me, I'll give you all the sordid details. I'm easy...
Lanette, Excellent post, I love it so much that I reblogged, couldn't have been written any better.
~ Life is Good
Hi Lanette, Great Post!
I want my buyers to be well informed. I want them to have a good inspection as do you, and I don't want the inspector to gloss over anything potentially dangerous, or anything major my buyer would have to repair.
On the other hand... it sounds like this dude is way to into his job--- and needs to take a refresher course!!
MORNING LANETTE! FUNNY...I think I met his brother here in Tucson - in the same line of work - doing a long inspection - not as long as yours - but it ranked right up there for time! HAPPY NEW YEAR! -- Gabrielle
Lanette, I will never complain again about a 3 hour inspection. You got your monies worth...
Paul - I'd say the buyer got her money's worth and then some. What's more unbelievable is that she came back for more (w/2 more inspections on another 2 homes) w/this guy!
I make it clear to my clients that I have worked with a particular inspector many times, and that he carries insurance incase he makes a mistake. I use Ral Estate Inspection Group, Chuck Oey in particular. They stand behind their inspections and I feel like I can trust them, which is important to my clients.
marcy
Lanette, his brother must have inspected one of my listings down in Prince George's. The house was slightly bigger than 1100 square feet (maybe double that) but that's still not the huge McMansions some people own with 4000+ sq ft. Anyway, this guy took about 5 hours. The Seller left, the Buyer's Agent left and the buyers and the Seller's son hung out for the duration. For the short time I was there (and I really don't like to stay during inspections to avoid liability and to give the buyers full access and yadda, yadda, yadda to talk freely with the inspector and the agent), the inspector was physically attempting to dislodge doors from the door jambs/frames (forget just making sure they opened and closed properly!).
The guy had soooooooooooo many little nit picky things.
It used to be inspectors "looked the other way" because they knoew they would never get a referral in the wild Sellers market unless they were a little lax. Now, it seems, it's the other way. Except that these inspectors don't realize that they will never get a referral unless I'm looking for a deal killer.
Ken - sounds like it may have been his brother. It was very surreal having to sit through that entire inspection. I felt totally inept and it's not like I didn't have anything else to do! I'm sitting there thinking how in the hell does this fool make any money? Like several have commented thus far -- how in the world could one do more than 1 inspection a day? Good grief!
Lanette,
I found this blog of yours by a reblog. I must compliment you on a great piece on home inspection. I agree, yes thats right, I agree with everything you said here. I have seen these types of blogs from realtors before and have found them to be nothing more than rants about how some incompetent (in their opinion) inspector messed up their sale. You are fair and right on the money.
My theory on inspectors such as this guy is they are looking for repeat business by scaring the buyers and or they have an over inflated sense of themselves. Either way they are a bad representation of our profession.
I hope this buyer is still with you in spite of this guy. Hang in there I'm sure things will work out.
I've got to tell you,
YOU CRACK ME UP! You are correct to say that it does not take 6 hours to inspect a 1100 foot house. I am curious though? Did to get up the nerve to say this to this inspector??
Lanette, 6 hours to do an inspection is nucking futz. I hate to say it, but there are bad apples in every barrel. I heard similar stories from agents in this area. This recession is certainly culling out the bad in all disciplines of the real estate market...
~~Michael
Lanette, even in our area with the nastiest of crawl spaces I can't imaging 6 hours on a 1100 sq ft house. As James said, either they are scamming for more work or they are a total nervous-newbie:)
He must not be very busy...and I can see why! I, too, am and inspector and we have some inspectors in my area that are nit-picky, too. They aren't very busy, either. I totally removed "marginal" from my reports. What does "marginal" mean anyway? Is is marginally a defect or is it marginally a potential improvement?
We stick to Significant Defects, Safety Issues, and Maintenance Items an provide a full report including annotated pictures as part of our Standard Inspection. No hand-written checklist reports are used to force every home into a standard form. No two homes are the same so why should be the report?
I explain to all of our clients that no home is perfect but there are perfect buyers for every home. Even new construction can have it's problems. In our area, there are thousands of homes that were built before 1950 and there are things that need to be looked at. But guess what, there problably aren't any GCFI's in the bathrooms, kitchens, and garages because they weren't even invented yet! So I explain to clients that if they every make any improvements to the home in the future they should be installed at that time...
It really depends on my ability to assess not only the home, but our client in the short time we spend together and I will change my approach and delivery to help our client understand what is important and what isn't, based on how glassed over their eyes become during the inspection. We include detailed notes in our "Standard Report" that will help them in the future maintain their home because they most likely won't remember much after the inspection. The education they receive from us is designed to help them understand what it is they are buying and not how dirty the carpets are.