In a continuing education I attended last month, the instructor sparked enthusiasm in the class by saying the dreaded word "Sued." No real estate practitioner or nobody, in general, wants to get sued.
Our instructor said that an agent in Maryland was sued by her buyers along with the home inspector. I tried to look it up on Realtor Magazine because this was the source of the article he mentioned.
Anyway, according to the instructor's best narrative of the story, the home inspector was not found guilty but the agent was. If my memory serves me right, it was about the mold that was referenced in the report. Because I don't have the complete details of how it happened, I could only surmise that, probably, the agent gave an opinion which was not warranted.
Don't act like an inspector is something that all of us should read. This article and the instructor's mention of the incident reminded me of a listing agent who argued with the home inspector my buyers hired last year.
In the report, the home inspector indicated that carbon monoxide escapes from the vent connected to the boiler.
Hence, the buyers requested that the vent be replaced as it is a health and safety hazard.
A day after the listing agent received the "Notice of Unsatisfactory Report" from my buyers, she called and said that there is no problem with the vent. There is no carbon monoxide coming out of it.
She tried to make her claim valid by telling me that she did an OPEN HOUSE for the subject property and she could not smell anything.
To engage in a conversation with her, I asked if you can smell carbon monoxide. Isn't it odorless? Also, was the heating system on when you did the Open House. That was July. And where were you during the Open House? Did you stay long in the basement?
The questions were not meant to throw sarcasm but to make her realize that it was wrong to make such assumption.
The listing agent did not stop there. She even called the home inspector to argue about his finding-- specific to carbon monoxide.
Nevertheless, the seller acceded to the buyer's request to have the vent replaced.
This is one specific example of what not to interfere with. Home inspection Report. There are a couple of home inspectors that I don't want to cross path again, if I have a choice, because of their flair for the dramatic.
There was one, I recalled vividly, who yelled "Houston we have a problem" when he found mold in the attic. And another inspector who included a dying tree in the report. Some recommendations were utterly ridiculous. But I will never dispute them.
However, if you want to be vulnerable to litigation and expose yourself to huge liability, go ahead...act and talk like a home inspector.
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