A funny thing happend on the way to the inspection

[Alton Darty]

Call #1.
Prospective client calls & I give my sales pitch. She asks several questions, length of time to perform the inspection, will I walk the roof, do I check the furnace, things of that nature. She seemed pleased with the answers & explanations that I gave. Ended up confirming that she wanted me to do the inspection. I asked her to contact her agent to confirm a time for the inspection & that all utilities would be on.:D

Call #2.
Prospective clients calls back. Agent has informed her that there is a charge to dewinterize the home & to turn on utilities. Her agents suggestion was that since I wanted the services on that I should be footing the bill, and that having the utilities turned on just for the inspection was a waste of money... I refrained from voicing my opinion on the agents comments to the caller.:confused:

Call #3.
Prospective client calls again. Agent has informed the buyer that my services are way overpriced & that with what I am charging that I should be willing to pay for the temporary utilities & to dewinterize. Buyer is now in tears as she knows that she needs an inspection and she has spoken to at least two other inspectors who gave her pretty much the same story that I did and a price that is close to mine. Again I refrained from comments concerning the sanity of the agent and her business practices.:mad:

Call #4
Oh wait, there hasn't been a call #4. Don't know if the buyer is going through with the deal, looking for an inspector who will pay for utilities, looking for an inspector who will inspect with the utilities off, or if she is looking for another realtor...:(

[Vern Heiler]

Oh wait, there hasn't been a call #4.


Not all blessings come clearly marked:) .

[A.D. Miller]

AD: In this cirucumstance, which I have witnesses more than once, I explain to the client that the agent will be collecting a commission upon the sale of this home that will be, at a minimum, three times greater than my inspection fee. For this reaons it is customary for agents to pick up the tab for de-winterizations, et al.:D

[Scott Patterson]

This is was too common!

A similar issue happened to me a week or so back. I posted it on my blog and it has had a few good responses from agents and inspectors.
Real Estate Blog - Don't Shoot the Messenger or the Home Inspector! (http://activerain.com/blogsview/1455785/don-t-shoot-the-messenger-or-the-home-inspector-)

[Markus Keller]

And you didn't slam dunk the agent Why? I think you did yourself a disservice by not informing the client about how full of crap the agent was. You've potentially lost a job, left a confused client hanging and left a potential client at the mercy of a scumbag agent. Not that it's our job to save stupid buyers but it is helpful to do so.
As far as utilities, I prefer that they are on but overall don't really care one way or the other. I do a lot of REO where utilities aren't on. If it is an REO, at least around here, the mechanicals need either full or substantial replacement anyway.

[Alton Darty]

And you didn't slam dunk the agent Why? I think you did yourself a disservice by not informing the client about how full of crap the agent was. You've potentially lost a job, left a confused client hanging and left a potential client at the mercy of a scumbag agent. Not that it's our job to save stupid buyers but it is helpful to do so.
As far as utilities, I prefer that they are on but overall don't really care one way or the other. I do a lot of REO where utilities aren't on. If it is an REO, at least around here, the mechanicals need either full or substantial replacement anyway.

Didn't need to run down the agent. I am certain that the buyer realizes what a winner she got in this one. She (the buyer) had researched some of the issues with buying & had done her homework on inspections. From our last conversation I know that she was not happy with her agents response, just don't know what the buyer has decided on....

I guess that I have gotten a little spoiled, the majority of agents that I have dealt with have been pros, only a few times a year do I run into an agent like this.
Even with REOs I can usually get most, if not all the utilities turned on without any problem just by asking the agent. I also have a pretty good relationship with some of the utility companies close by & often I can get temp power, gas, and water just by calling the offices. Always with the knowledge & approval of the buyers & sellers agents of course (yeah, I know that I may be on thin ice with that one, but sometimes it is just quicker & easier for me to call the manager at the water authority or the head guy at the gas company).

[Jack Feldmann]

I think doing an inspection without the utilities on is a dis-service to the client. While the mechanicals might be old and needing replacement, there can be a huge amount of plumbing issues that can't be found without something flowing thru the pipes.

I think I would have thrown the Realtor under the bus by call #3, or maybe #2.

[A.D. Miller]

I think I would have thrown the Realtor under the bus by call #3, or maybe #2.

JF: Yep.:D

[Nick Ostrowski]

When I get a call from a buyer who tells me the house is winterized or power is off or no gas, I tell them it is best if any utilities that are currently OFF can be turned ON prior to the inspection, otherwise it ends up being an incomplete inspection. Some agree and take the necessary measures to get said things turned on. Some just say "oh well" and ask me to inspect what I can. I advise them in the event of no running water, no gas, or no electric, the inspections of these systems are visual and I am unable to confirm operability, leaks, etc. and so the sma ein my report

I just looked at a 3,400 square foot under construction house last week. No gas, no running water, no operable toilets, and only two operable circuits in the house. The well water supply pipe wasn't even hooked up and neither was the main sanitary drain line to the septic tank. It was 20 degrees outside the house and 40 degrees inside. The buyer said he'd talk to the builder about getting things turned on prior to the inspection but the only system that was even in a partially working state was the electric. Even though I had to disclaim over 50% of the house in the report, he wanted the inspection because I think he had to make a decision as to whether or not he wanted to move forward with the purchase.

[Jon Errickson]

You test drive a car before purchasing it, right? Imagine going to a dealership and having them tell you that you can test drive the car, but you need to put gas in it before it'll go anywhere.

[Ted Menelly]

It is not your responsibility, the agents responsibility or money or the agent handling the sale for the bank or whom ever. It is the cost of the owner of the property thru the listing agent handling the property. Listing agent takes the appointment for the home to be inspected and makes the calls to have the utilities turned on and the owner foots the bill.

To suggest in the slightest that the inspector should foot the bill deserves a B slap upside the head to that extremely ignorant Realtor. The funny thing is that a lot of Realtors read this board and I am hoping they read this. The word "extremely ignorant was extremely nice. If any other Realtors out there are reading this and you think that this Realtor was in line it is high time you woke up and came out of your fog.

To even conceder selling a property with no utilities on to anyone including an investor is ignorant in itself never mind to a home buyer intending on living there.

[Jim Luttrall]

"Oh, don't worry, smart realtors always put a stipulation in the contract that makes the seller is responsible for making sure the utilities are on for the inspection" said the inspector to his client.:D

[Ken Rowe]

At the end of call #3 I would have called the agent's broker and let them know what was going on.

I'll offer to do inspections with the utilities off, but I'll tell the clients that anything associated with those utilies will be disclaimed and the price won't be discounted. I'll also let them know that it isn't really worth doing the inspection, in my opinion, with the utilities shut off. I don't do very many of them.

[Jerry Peck]

Call #3.
Prospective client calls again. Agent has informed the buyer that my services are way overpriced


That's when you ask the prospective client if the agent is charging the customary 1/2% real estate commission fee or the higher 6% that some overpriced agents charge, and that if the agent is overcharging then the agent surely will have be able to pay for that fee.