High-Tech vs. Low-Tech Home Inspections--Does it Matter?

The Franklin TN housing market is booming right now. Getting a home inspector out in a timely manner is proving to be difficult. Especially, those inspectors with a stellar reputation. As a result, the home inspections need to be scheduled the same day buyers have a binding contract.

When I am working as the buyer's agent, I ask buyers if they would like me to schedule the home and termite inspection. I ask if they have a preference of who they would like to use. Surprisingly, 9 out of 10 buyers will give me authorization to schedule the inspections and use my preferred vendor.

For that one person who is scheduling their own inspections, I provide a list of local vendors and explain they need to schedule inspections right away. I can't say I've ever had a problem with a home inspector that a buyer has chosen but I have grown pretty accustom to the way my preferred vendors work.

Yesterday, I attended a home inspection with someone who I've never had the opportunity to work with before. He was not on my list of preferred vendors and I never asked my buyers why they chose him. 

My preferred home inspectors are all high-tech. They use the latest and greatest gadgets. They use their laptops to record information as they are inspecting. They even bring a printer to print out the list of items that need repair or replacement and include the photos of those items. This way they can easily walk the house and show the buyers the areas that need repair while the buyers are still in the house. They then email the complete report later.

I love this format. It works really well for me because I don't have to explain the contents of the inspection report. The home inspector does that on-site. I've even sat down with buyers while at the inspection to craft our repair proposal while everyone is all together.

While I didn't have any complaints about the inspection performed yesterday, it was clear this inspector was low-tech. He had a notebook (paper), pen and camera. When he was finished, he said he would email the report later that day. I asked if he could give us any indication of what needed to be repaired. He pulled out his camera and said, "Now, let's see." and began zooming through the photos. Some of which we couldn't see very well.

It wasn't a very good way for my clients to see the items that needed repair and I think they were feeling a little over-whelmed as we left. The entire report didn't arrive until today. Once again, not in a format that I am accustom to but one I can make work.

I began to wonder what other agents are experiencing with home inspections. High-tech vs. low-tech--does it matter?

************************************************************************************ 

 

Tammie White, REALTOR®

TW Realty Group

Benchmark Realty LLC

318 Seaboard Lane

Franklin TN 37067

(615) 495-0752 Direct

Email: Tammie@TWRealtyGroup.net

www.TWRealtyGroup.net

 

 

This posting with the content written here and photographs displayed are the intellectual property and opinions of Tammie White of Benchmark Realty LLC. Any party who uses this material without the permission of Tammie White is subject to copyright infringement and possible lawsuit.