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What is a Home Inspection?

"A home inspection is a non-invasive examination of the condition of a home, often in connection with the sale of that home." From Wikipedia.

Nothing more nothing less. Please note the word condition.

That said many Home Inspectors choose to offer opinions on the structure and/or it's components. And that is OK. The problem is that some Home Inspectors feel that there opinions trump what code officials have already approved. Whether that was 50 years ago or today.

There is nothing wrong with trying to inform the buyer (client) about what is the current standard today. But to make those opinions part of the Real Estate transaction is wrong.

A request to remedy should include defects NOT recommendations as to what the standard is today!

Safety issues should always be addressed. Upgrades to today standards should be recommendations that the buyer should perform after the purchase.

Posted by Mike Parks ESI, RBO ,RPI ,RIUI ,OMHI- Ohio on 03/18/2009 07:45 PM

Comments (12)

Request to Remedy in the Sales Strategies / Tactics Channel

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12 Comments on What is a Home Inspection?

MAR

AMEN<<<<<<<<<<< You are right on

Mike, I don't think "trumps" has anything to do with it. In fact, that a lot of code officials feel that their "opinion" trumps anyone else's opinion also has nothing to do with it. The buyer has hired the home inspector for his "opinion" of the condition of the home. If I see things that I feel should be brought to the attention of the buyer regardless of codes----or when the house was built----that is my job, and what they have hired me for. Some of those things will be upgrades some of them will be repairs. I would never expect any seller to fix anything I categorized as an upgrade, but I sure would not leave it out of the report. Some things that would be considered an upgrade have the power to kill a deal for some buyers----especially if there are enough of such items in a home. That is between the buyer and the seller to arm wrestle over. If you are saying that upgrades to current standards have no place in the inspection report I respectfully disagree.

Charles

This was meant more for the Realtor rather than the inspector.

Realtors blindly pass everything in a report on to the sellers.

THAT is the problem. NOT the inspector(s) or the report!

I hear you there Mike----very good point. I think some fault does have to be shared with the inspectors that do not know how to differentiate their findings in the report, making it almost impossible for anyone to figure out what they are saying. Most of the agents I deal with do know how to do this----the only questioning phone calls I get are from the ones that don't even really read the report, or worse yet "re-translate" the report to the seller. Fortunately those are the exception.

MAR

Mike - Charles good points from both sides on this one. Two people can read the same report and walk away with a completely different interpretation. We have a good reporting inspection report over here in Texas and pretty well covers most answers and questions.

Be careful with the inspector that you choose. I have had some inspectors that feel that they have to point out every nail pop....and will send the deal south.

Ginger, this confuses me. Why would mentioning nail pops ever kill a deal? Is the inspector saying that it is normal or that the house is going to fall down because of it?

It has much more to do with the way the defects and/or observations are conveyed to the prospective buyer by the home inspector. If "nail pops" are part of a much larger issue then I am sure everyone would want to know.

The one thing people need to remember, when critiquing the performance of an inspector is that the client expectation of just how critical the inspector should be is often pretty high -- often higher than what a specific agent, or even the inspector, might like it to be. Obviously, an inspector with experience tries to bring those people down to reality, but the inspector is the one who gets complaint calls a few weeks later over things that he or she might have thought pretty insignificant at the time. In a brand new house, if frequent and apparent, I might mention nail pops, not in an older one. I also will not make a federal case of it, but do want a reference in the report. It would never appear on a summary. I know a number of inspectors who have been sued for failing to report something, so one must write carefully and cover one's south side.

MAR

I like inspectors to be thorough and to be very honest with my clients. I like them to point out everything that is wrong; but without going on and on about something that MAY or may not happen. Don't make a federal case about something that doesn't even exist (maybe it will, but if it doesn't exist then, don't make a big deal out of it) (and if there is a chance something may happen, then say what will happen.... paying attention to the delivery of the message).

Just state the facts as you see them now, and tell people what the life expectancy is (if appropriate). Don't offer to tell them horror stories about other properties that you inspected before.
Don't bring other properties or problems that have nothing to do with this house, into the conversation.

Limit the dialogue to the home you're inspecting at that time. Be honest and thorough... report everything that is relevant and significant - about that house - and answer any questions my clients may have.

As far as Realtors blindly passing everything to their sellers ... the way it works here is that the home inspector works for the buyer, and neither the buyer NOR the Realtor, pass anything to the seller. The seller doesn't have access to that report (unless the buyer chooses to share). If they want a report, they have to pay for one themselves.

The report is for the buyer's eyes only and it's used to negotiate a better price, if there are major issues.

I find sometimes it's the delivery, or how the message is given to the buyers, that scares them; and not so much the actual problems.

APR

Mike I like you perspective. I had an inspector use the phrase..."Ticking water bomb waiting to explode." After he scared the hell out of my buyer we found that it was not that bad and we had an easy solution. That is the type of stuff that make an agent cringe. It is not always the information it is the delivery...

JUL

I would guess that Mike's issues with inspectors go much deeper than hs posted. It would be good to address a few of these issues though.

First,I don't think anyone could ever make a definitive endgame to an inspection report to meet your "nothing more nothing less" theory. As this is pretty open I would just point out that every house is different.

Second. no inspector chooses to offer an opinion, "All" inspctors provide opinions, that is what we do. No inspectors opinion trumps code, ever. With that though, Code enforcement does not trump our reports. Simply put they are two different things. I think one of the most important points to make here is that a home can be built to code; and be unsafe. Second, just becasue it passed code doesn't mean it was even seen. Third, inspectors must go well beyond code becasue of the complexity of the home. We also deal with manufacturers installation instructions, insurance requirements, industry standards, construction journals, ICC, CSPC, and on and on. All of this comes into play when an inspector walks into a home. The last thing I worry about when I start my inspeciton is rather or not anything in the home "passed code inspection", it simply doesn't apply. I would also mention that code enforcement is beyond a lawsuit in the performance of thier duties, we are not.

Third, talk with your inspectors, could be there is a way to remendy the "recommendations" in the report. Most professional inspectors are very concious of the fact that older homes are not built to todays standard. We are not the enemy, but we can be your best ally in the transaction. We protect our client, ourselves, and the agent when we conduct a thorough inspeciton an inform the client. We are not all perfect but we try to do our jobs well. Remember, if realtors don't sell homes, we don't survive. It is not in our interest to put you out of business.

Communication is the key.

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