As a full-time Home Inspector I have done several thousand inspections of houses, condos, co-ops and commercial properties here on Long Island. Occasionally, a Realtor calls my office to complain that I "KILLED THEIR DEAL". More often I hear stories about other Home Inspectors who killed their last deal.
As a Home Inspector it is my job, to convey my findings, to my customer, in the most concise and accurate way possible! I believe that I do my job very well, and my personal rate of customer satisfaction is outstanding. All too often, the Home Inspector is blamed by the Realtor for KILLING THE DEAL. Perhaps it was the condition of the property, reported accurately by the Home Inspector that killed the deal?!
How do I make these Realtors understand, that if a Home Inspector was to withhold any major issues from the customers, that I would be doing so many things wrong, that if I were caught, I would have my license revoked, my liability would be enormous, and my credibility as a Home Inspector and a human being would be severely compromised?
Then there are the ones who say "Well, it's all in the presentation!" To them I say, I am not an alarmist, nor do I go out of my way to scare any customer. In fact, I usually explain how anything can be fixed, and I mean anything! I have yet to uncover a problem on a property that could not be repaired, one way or another.
So, to those of you who have accused me (or any other hard working Home Inspector) of KILLING YOUR DEAL, I say...
...take a step back. Re-evaluate yourself as a human being. How dare you only be concerned about making the sale? Think about your first home purchase. How nervous were you? Where there professionals involved who helped you, and made you feel comfortable? Wouldn't you have been angry, and felt betrayed, if they had held back important information that could have saved you from spending thousands of dollars after you closed on your dream home?
Don't ask, or expect us to do that to our customers. It is immoral, inhumane, illegal, a tremendous liability, and just plain WRONG!
I don't mean to imply that this nonsense goes on with all Realtors, nor does it happen with most Realtors. It is the select few, who are concerned about nothing but completing the sale, and collecting their commission check. They don't care who gets hurt in the process, and it shows. Don't think your customers don't know it either, your facade is very easy to see through.
To those of you who refer me regularly, THANK YOU. Occasionally a deal goes away, but they understand that I was not the cause. Thanks for your continued faith in my ability to do the best possible job for our customers!
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