Client Psychology And The Inspector
NEEDS A NEW ROOF?? Isn't that clear to the buyer and their agent before paying for a home inspection???
An experienced Buyer's Agent will protect their buyer by making a new roof a condition of the contract unless the seller can produce a roof inspection certificate that states that the roof has at least 5 years of useful life.
Why stake your buyers out to the cost of a home inspection to have the home inspector tell us what we already know??? The dang house needs a new roof. Either the buyer will be prepared to pay for one after settlement, or the seller will agree to pay for one as a condition of the contract.
My question is always, "Why didn't the seller replace the roof prior to putting the house on the market??
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Sometimes I find the psychology of working with clients interesting or even amusing. I think that, to a large degree, that is the result of the general public not really knowing what the home inspector is looking for.
Are we there to straighten the pictures on the wall, or something more significant? It seems like a number of people feel that we are on the lookout for cosmetic issues -- not the case.
The kind of situation that amuses me would be like the one described here. These are photos I took several months back at the site of an inspection. I arrived at the house, got out of the truck, and the buyer says: "I am just really anticipating what you are going to say about the roof."
Now there is not really any big surprise here, so the client is needlessly waiting for the big news. The fact is, I can tell without even going up there -- but of course I will go up there -- that the roof is shot. It is covered with moss all over and the shingles are brittle and numerous unprofessional repairs have been made. It has a multitude of defects.
Sometimes what the home inspector tells the buyer is not going to be too different than what the buyer might intuitively know -- at this house you need to buy a new roof.
Thanks for stopping by,
Steven L. Smith
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