Have you ever had one of those days when you find yourself answering the question "why"? (over and over again) No, you are not dealing with a inquisitive child; you're dealing with the seller, who wanted to stay at home for the inspection. Home inspectors give us great reports and then we have to discuss it with our Buyers and Sellers.
The buyers have the advantage, 90% of the time, being present at the time of the inspection. They are able to ask probing questions of the home inspector at each turn of the inspection. My buyers pay good money to have an inspection by a licensed inspector and should be able to ask most any question that comes to mind about condition, lifespan, and construction. In most cases, the inspector has an answer however if they don't know, they usually write it down and get back to the buyer with the answer...
When the seller stays home for the inspection, it usually turns out to be a war of words. In this case, the seller was present and was making statements and asking questions like;
- What do mean it's been recalled?
- If it works, what matter does it make if it's up to code?
- If you don't like the water pressure; don't flush the toilets while you're taking a shower, that's physically impossible anyway. Why do you need to flush a toilet while you're in the shower?
- I don't use that door, why does it have to open?
- Why do I need plastic in my crawl space, nobody goes there anyway?
- Every house has its quirks, let me show you how that works?
- Why are you beginning to nickel and dime me?
- That's been like that since we bought this house and has always worked fine...
- You can't go in there...
- Nobody ever told us that when we bought the house...
- Stop the home inspection, I wanna speak to my agent...
I must say; the home inspector showed great patience. He tried to show my clients the problem and then answer the forthcoming question from the seller.
Why can't the Seller wait to see what the Buyer is going to ask in the way of compensation or repairs? I don't believe my clients have ever asked for everything noted at a home inspection. In fact, in 14 years, I can honestly say that over half of my home inspections have been mere formalities and my client hasn't asked for any repairs at all...
How often do you have to deal with the seller during a home inspection?
This post was authored by Paul Henderson. ©2012, All Rights Reserved, This content may not be reproduced or reprinted (Except for ActiveRain Re-blogging) without express written permission of Paul Henderson, RE/MAX Professionals, Tacoma, WA.
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