How About That 6 Hour Home Inspection?

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 anylytical 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.