Lately I have been lucky enough to work with sellers who either pay attention to their home and keep it extremely nice OR listen to me and properly stage and package their homes for market.

I have learned the importance of educating the seller so there are no surprises. We take the time to be sure the home is in  mint condition.  By this I mean have all the systems inspected or cleaned.  We do "pre-inspections" to verify the buyer will have no issues. 

The home shows amazingly well, we sell it and then The Inspector comes in.  Now most inspectors are very good.  I like when they are mature and secure enough with their abilities that they don't feel a  need to "find a problem".  If a home is good, they tell the buyer it is good, the buyers like to know they have made a wise choice.  Everyone loves validation.

But lately my listings have been getting the other kind of Home Inspector.  These are the guys who have to find something, anything wrong with the house.

Two weeks ago, an inspector came up with 1) dent in garage wall (car cracked dry wall) 2) lock on window needs adjustment 3) leaky outside faucet.  OK we knew about the faucet, that was ok, but "dent in garage wall?"  Excuse me...how many perfect garage walls do you see?  The inspector even went on to explain what kind of fire-safe materials to use to repair it.  It was minuscule! We laughed and the seller agreed to patch it..his way, not the prescribed inspector way.  As a selling agent, I never would have let my buyer but something so minute on an inspection notice. 

One of my agents had an inspector note that the structural wood floors was less than 12 inches above the ground.  OK, so what should the seller do, tear down the house and start over? 

The is a very "special" inspector in our area (read "special" as sarcasm please!) who has built his business by knocking Realtors.  He has a website that tells the consumer we Realtors are in "bed" with the home inspectors we recommend.  He basically knocks everyone except himself.

In the  past I had the misfortune of having two different buyers decide to use him.  The first time I had no idea, but I caught on to him real fast.  He's cantankerous on site, he refused to address me, he would speak only to the buyer, as if I didn't exist.  He failed a perfectly good house.  We found another house.  I suggested the buyers try another inspector, but they so LOVED HIM, they used him again.  This time I sent my broker to the inspection (I didn't want to put myself in front of the inevitable murder...) He failed the house.

By this time I knew his scheme, he was proving his existence and making twice as much money doing it!  We found another inspector and actually bought the second house.

The next time this guy showed up with my buyer, he told this lovely young, single girl the place was really awful and she shouldn't consider buying such an "ugly place".  I couldn't believe my ears. I restrained myself, my buyer hired him, I'd let her handle that one.  Oh yeah, he failed the condo. 

We went and found another one.  My lovely, young buyer listened to me and chose a different inspector.  Mr. Wonderful was toast.

Recently one of my listings sold.  The buyer's agent came into my office to deliver something. I asked her who was doing the inspection, because there's one guy in town I prefer to stay out of my sight.  She asked who, I was having a "senior moment" but couldn't remember his name.  She said is it xxx xxxx?  I said YES!

So Mr. Wonderful has developed quite a reputation.  He's known by his deeds alone.  It gets even funnier...he now has a real estate license.  He has met the enemy....it is he!

The reality is we as Realtors want a home inspector to do their job.  They are there to inspect the property.

Don't:

• assume you know the real estate market, you get to see homes, you don't know what they sell for
• offer your opinion on anything other than the inspection, you've know the buyer tops 2 hours?  We've spent days, sometimes weeks and months with them.
• feel you need to "find something" wrong with a property, if it's nice tell the buyers so!
  

Do:

• pay attention to your job, follow your checklist
• write so we can read what it says
• explain the difference between "defective" and "routine maintenance"
• know we appreciate you for your professionalism.  We want to hear the truth...all the time. 

Home Inspectors have a job to do.  It's an important job and one that should never be overlooked.  I am very thankful for all the GOOD HOME INSPECTORS that can take up the slack when Mr. Wonderful is too busy selling real estate AND doing home inspections...he's probably a mortgage broker too.