Frequently real estate agents will recommend home inspectors to their clients as part of the service they are providing. This is expected as the agent is viewed as an expert in real estate and should know local home inspectors which include the good and often the bad.
The concern by this author is do the agents really know anything about the individual they are recommending. Sometimes the home inspector is pre-qualified on rumor. For example, the other sales agents in the office state the inspector is a non-alarmist and/or a very good inspector. Other times, the home inspector can be recommended after speaking at a sales meeting and dropping off donuts to the office as a follow-up.
It is my position that before referring an individual that will be entering a family's home there should be a highly selective screening process. Unfortunately, this process does not happen as the majority of the real estate sales agents have not considered the integrity of the home inspector. In fact in my over twenty years of performing South Jersey home inspections, I have never had a real estate sales agent question me to determine if I may have a criminal record prior to referring me.
This lack of screening which should include background checks appears to be widespread in the real estate industry. Just last month felony charges were filed against a California home inspector accused of swindling over $100,000 from a senior citizen. According to court records, this home inspector had pleaded guilty in 2001 to grand theft charges in four different cases (click here for more information).
Despite the grand theft, this man was apparently actively performing real estate home inspections and entering homes with valuables and children in addition to homes inhabited by the elderly. This home inspector advertised the lowest prices in the industry, but I guess he considered the perks would offset the low fees. Further, he advertised as a certified home inspector of the largest home inspector association in the country.
My concern which I suspect is shared, should have the local real estate agents known about this home inspector? I think so. Should have the home inspection industry also known about this home inspector? I think so too.
Real estate agents and brokers should step up and demand to be supplied with an independent background check prior to referring or allowing any home inspector access to a property they are selling. Home inspection associations must do likewise and also should require background checks prior to memberships.
The real estate and home inspection industries need to show the consumer that not only can home inspectors be trusted, but that we are who they expect us to be.
"Glen Fisher southjerseynpi@aol.com
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