Home Inspector ruined My Deal! Or did he?
Here is my story
Ever hear an agent and broker complain about a home inspector ruining a deal on you?
More often lately I hear this as the condition of homes (mostly vacant foreclosures) available deteriorates.
On this particular sale the house was a fix and flip house that looked good. However one corner of the house was suspect, well it turned out not so good at all. At the end I lost the customer! No sweat it happens! They bought a house in a different area.
So I referred Pete the inspector to them, and I have done so many times and he has "ruined" many deals over the years “on me”. So why am I so happy with him?
Many inspectors that solicited my business in the early days of my real estate career would say things like, "I'll make sure the deal goes forward for you.", "I always charge a few bucks more for you" with a wink and a smile. Not so fast... I don't trust many but if you’re going to refer a home inspector you better trust s/he will take care of the customer NOT you. In return you will be taken care of in the long run.
For new agents, let this be a warning. YOU WILL PAY IN THE LONG RUN! Maybe not this time but not all stains come out in the wash. The ones that remain are tough to deal with.
I mentioned earlier that the property was a fix and flip. We asked the listing agent direct questions about the corner of the house. He “directly” avoided answering the questions and led me to believe it was fine. The offer was place without a home inspection. YES, I said that right without a home inspection. The information I got from the listing agent was that the window was just replaced. Inside the wall is fine. OK! RIGHT? Have the seller send over the real property disclosure as part of the contract with no inspection contingency. I get an email late Friday night, here is the signed "contract" the seller will fill out the disclosure this weekend. "Wait, wait, wait I requested this with the contract" said the buyer. What if they don't disclosure the truth? The buyer withdraws the offer and Pete was on location first thing Sat. If this deal closed, it would have been me being sued. Turns out the corner of the house was infested with terminates and the inside and outside had just been painted and the window replaced to hide the damage.
-------- Original Message --------
|
Subject: |
thank you |
|
Date: |
Wed, 11 Apr 2012 10:12:54 -0400 (EDT) |
|
From: |
E and L |
|
To: |
Dear Pete: We are so grateful for your thorough and meticulous inspection on our Port St.Lucie home. We were planning to buy this home and thanks to you we found out it was termite infested and had a lot of other problems. We would have been in a deep financial hole if we had bought this home. Everything was hidden and apparently looked fine, until you found the real conditions of the place. You saved us from making a big mistake. We would recommend to everyone to seek a professional just like you, before investing in such an important decision making deal. E and L
Pete Campbell Guaranteed Inspections Your Personal Building Consultant for Life (772) 528-0203
http://www.PortStLucieInspections.com
http://IfWeMissItWeWillFixIt.com
Inspecting Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce, St. Lucie Village, Lakewood Park, Vero Beach, Indian River Shores, Sebastian, Fellsmere, Fort Drum, Okeechobee, Jensen Beach, Stuart, Palm City, Hobe Sound and Indiantown, Florida.
Comments(7)