When I hire a home inspector this is what I expect:

No doubt there was a specific, and unfortunate, occurrence that triggered your post. I would have to guess that the inspector in question was not acting as a professional.

Frankly there is no reason anyone should be in the least interested in my politics, religion, sexual orientation, skin color, or astrological sign when I am operating in a professional arena. I leave them for appropriate venues, and inspections are not one of them.

Having said that I have been asked a number of times over the years questions that are out of my field and I try my best to field these in a way that leads the client to the best answer. In a way this is "passing the buck" but I can't reasonably be expected to know what the seller might fix or replace. I really don't know how the neighbors are and can't recommend a good local church.

I can tell a client that typically a non functioning component of the property that is not disclosed as such falls on the seller to deal with and that any maintenance tips or improvement suggestions are purely optional for the buyer to pursue at their own expense.

I can also foist most questions off on to the buyer's Realtor. They are the most knowledgeable about the specifics of the sale.

Over the years I have encountered a few less than professional Realtors, I am sure not ActiveRainers, who conducted themselves in embarrassing ways too, so I am aware of how you feel. I have tied my best to encourage their participation in the annual Darwin Award "http://www.darwinawards.com/" competition feeling that would be best for all involved.

When I look at how many inspections I have had done vs. the occasional chatty inspector, I have been blessed.  Wish I could say the same about the realtors I have worked with who were terrific vs. those who weren't.  But, when the inspector goes off the reservation, YIKES!

Sounds like someone had a bad experience!  I would cross that one off my list of recommended inspectors.

Richard- I agree 100%, my inspector is very quiet and talks when he needs to- he doesn't offer opinions about anything other than the inspection!

That is exactly what I want as well. I've only had one that was talkative, all others were there to do one thing .... complete a home inspection!

Dear Richard,

I do not mind some friendly chitchat, but in the end want the same result you do.

Richard, I had a conversation on this topic two days ago, with another agent, and we echoed your sentiments.

Yes, I want an inspector who's there to do his job, not waste our time.

Time Is Money... Great Post...

Great post.  Had one recently where the owners were there and the inspector referenced "the seller said".  Well, we already knew what the seller thought from the disclosures, we hired him to verify all was good.

I agree fully with this! The problem I have ran into once in a while is the "Business Casual" style inspector. They come to the inspection in a button up shirt, dress slacks and dress shoes. They "look" at things from a distance and use high powered flashlights to view into crawlable areas. I thought we hired them to actually "inspect" not view. They have the nicest cards, great marketing gimics, awesome website, but yet don't get down in dirty when it truly matters.

Being Objective is the most important thing the inspector can do.  Just tell us like it is.

Our best inspectors give us a report on the condition of the home on that day.  The sellers' real estate agent should be seen, and not heard from, unless consulted.

OK, so in other words, get the job done & thoroughly.

We encountered an inspector who was using photos of the defects he found in a home to put on his blog.  He likes to poke fun at these problem issues in his blog in order to market himself as an "expert".  He had no permission from the owners to do this and in fact the disclaimers in the report's fine print stated that photos of the seller's home were to be used "solely for the purpose of preparing a report", not for marketing purposes.  I call that an agenda and it has nothing to do with providing the parties with a thorough and objective inspection.

I would get more to the point! Kind of wordy :-)

Good post!

Richard,

I wonder if this blog is really a rant. What triggered your post? I agree with you except how the house is advertised. If a home is marketed as "completely remodeled," then it should have GFCI devices at the kitchen counters. My clients/buyers ABSOLUTELY want to know if they are buying a remodeled home or a pig with lipstick.

I think I had that same inspector a while ago!