I know, my writing style is that of an assassin (we won't discuss my poor grammer), and sometimes it does more than ruffle a few feathers. As far as I am concerned it’s all good because it makes people think and react.
Today’s rant is no different, it is meant to make your hackles rise and get you motivated to do something. The something I want you to do is to do for your profession what I am in the process of doing here in my state to home inspectors who are unlicensed and unethical in their dealing with clients.
There are many fine inspectors and it only takes one or two to give us a bad name. The same with Realtors.
Many of you know that I use the term “used house salesman” for Realtors who don’t look out for the best interests of their clients, today’s was a perfect example.
I was hired to do a 4 Point and a Wind Mitigation Inspection (insurance inspections) by a middle aged couple who were buying their first home. They had placed themselves in the “capable” hands of a Realtor who has been their "friend" for 20 years.
The Realtor was a dual agent, representing both the seller and his friends of 20 years (the buyers). I know and understand that the Realtor has a fiduciary duty to the seller first and foremost, however it is my opinion that he still has a certain duty to the buyers.
The buyers had called me to book the inspections and I had asked why they didn’t use the inspector who had inspected the house for them. The reply they gave stunned me. “Our Realtor told us that the house belonged to a handyman, that it was well maintained and that we didn’t need to waste money on a home inspection.”
I arrived at the “well maintained” house 15minutes early and was greeted by the buyer. The used house salesman had given the key to the buyer to open up the night before as he was not going to be present.
Here is a short list of the issues I found in the "well maintained house that didn’t need a home inspection”. The electrical pane is made by Zinsco (many insurance companies will not insure homes with these or Federal Pacific electrical panels), sharp pointed screws used for the panel cover (people could be electrocuted if the screws pierced teh wires insulation and they touched the panel), double tapping of circuits in the electrical panel, loose wires in the electrical panel, no GFCI outlets in the garage, kitchen or any of the bathrooms, loose connections at 50% of the outlets, no cover-plates for the electrical outlets in the kitchen (the rehab was supposed to have been completed over a week ago) missing cabinets in the kitchen, no appliances, no backsplash or wall tiles, and the list goes on and on.
For crying out loud people, let’s get rid of all these bad apples in our industries. We don’t need them, and our future clients certainly don’t need them either.
All in favor say Aye.
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