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Some people just don't get it!

By
Home Inspector with American Pride Home Inspections

Our job as real estate inspectors is to inform, educate and sometimes comfort our clients through the inspection process. It is to give them information on the condition of the homes structure, systems and over all condition of the property. To inform them as to safety hazard found during the inspection and to explain our findings in a way that is not going to scare them out of buying the property, if the findings are not extreem.

The only things we can do is to inform, educate and comfort them along with recommend certain things be taken care of prior to taking position of the property. Once we make our recommendation it is up to the client and the agent as to what the client wants to ask for. We, as inspectors, cannot make the client do anything that we recommend and still we get calls from the clients, at times, after they have moved into the property ask why we did not tell them this needed to be done.

I just got a call from one of my clients and they told me that the furnace in the home was not working. Mind you the inspection was performed almost 6 months ago. That being beside the point, I told them during the inspection that the furnace had issues and that it did not appear to have been serviced per the manufacturers specifications in quit sometime. That it was working at the time but was not working properly and that it appeared to be past the useful service life and could stop working at anytime. I also noted in the report several times that the system did not appear to be in serviceable condition and that I did not think that it could be repaired. I told the client that the unit would more than likely need to be replaced and that a full system evaluaiton should be performed by a licensed contractor and that it should be repaired or replaced according to there findings. I also informed the client that if they had the system evaluation done and the HVAC contractor found that the system to operational and something did happen to it that the home warranty that the agent was giving them would take care of anything that happened but this would only work if they could show proper maintenance.

The client chose not to follow my recommendation and 5 months after the inspection the furnace stopped working. The home warranty company will not replace the system due to lack of maintenance and the client wants my company to either pay for a new system or alter my original inspeciton finding to show that the system was in perfect working order at the time of the inspection so that the warranty company will replace it. Not going to happen! Insurance fraud is not my game, never has been and never will be.

Some people just don't get it. We, as inspectors, are hired to give the client advise as to what needs to be done or repaired and inform them on the condition of the property. If the client chooses not to heed our recommendations the the fault should not fall back on us. I feel for my client but I do not think that I could have been any clearer than I was.

I understand that somethings in the inspeciton report are not that big of a deal and could be repaired by the buyer at a later date. The HVAC system is not one of them, it is the single most expensive system in the home to replace. Why would they not want to spend the $75.00 or $100.00 dollars that it would take to have the proper contractor evaluate the system, service it if it needs it or request that the seller take care of it as part of the inspection repair requests and cover their hind side?

Just a look at some of the things we inspectors face every now and then.

Show All Comments Sort:
Brian Luce
HomeStarr Realty Inc. - New Hope, PA
Associate Broker

I agree with you.  Stand your ground.

I don't know what it is, but NOBODY wants to take responsibilities for their own actions any more.  It's always someone elses fault. Never their own.  Someone always has to baill them out.

 Great Post.

Mar 13, 2008 06:01 AM
Eugene Jones
Weichert Realtors - Somerville, NJ
Sounds like you performed your due diligence. The client should have taken your advice in the beginning.
Mar 13, 2008 06:12 AM
Stephen Graham
Inactive - Atlanta, GA
That is why every buyer needs a good buyer's agent, not a sales agent. A good buyer's agent will remove the emotional aspect out of the transaction to help the buyer make an informed decision.
Mar 13, 2008 06:25 AM
Charles Buell
Charles Buell Inspections Inc. - Seattle, WA
Seattle Home Inspector
Donald, I think this says more about the reasons NOT to buy a home warranty than anything about what you did.  Sounds like you couldn't have been more clear----without actually going down and throwing a spear through the thing:)
Mar 13, 2008 10:07 AM