Thread: Home Inspection for Seller: 2nd Opinion from Recent Home Inspection for the Buyer

I wanted to get some feedback from the group on a conversation I had with a colleague recently. We are both relatively new home inspectors and have been helping each other out get established.

My colleague was recently asked to conduct a home inspection at the request of the seller. Apparently, a deal recently fell through on the property in question due to a home inspection performed for the buyer. Many majors were called out.

Essentially, the seller is looking for a “second opinion” regarding the findings from the buyer’s home inspector.

So my first question is if this is a common occurrence in the home inspection industry.

Secondarily, what should we as home inspectors consider when being asked to essentially audit another home inspector’s work? Are their legal issues to consider if the findings are dramatically different?

To further complicate things the buyer’s home inspector and my colleague (as well as myself) belong to the same local home inspector chapter. Would it be appropriate to discuss this matter with the buyer’s home inspector in terms of professional courtesy?

I appreciate any advice the group could share.

Thanks again,
John

Originally Posted by John McGuiness

I wanted to get some feedback from the group on a conversation I had with a colleague recently. We are both relatively new home inspectors and have been helping each other out get established.

My colleague was recently asked to conduct a home inspection at the request of the seller. Apparently, a deal recently fell through on the property in question due to a home inspection performed for the buyer. Many majors were called out.

Essentially, the seller is looking for a “second opinion” regarding the findings from the buyer’s home inspector.

So my first question is if this is a common occurrence in the home inspection industry.

Secondarily, what should we as home inspectors consider when being asked to essentially audit another home inspector’s work? Are their legal issues to consider if the findings are dramatically different?

To further complicate things the buyer’s home inspector and my colleague (as well as myself) belong to the same local home inspector chapter. Would it be appropriate to discuss this matter with the buyer’s home inspector in terms of professional courtesy?

I appreciate any advice the group could share.

Thanks again,
John

Over time you will be re-inspecting other inspectors work at some time.

Legal issues, they can occur with out doing anything wrong.

Talking to another inspector about different findings.
I do if the inspector is not one that claims to know it all, and or claims to be better than me or other inspectors.
There are a lot of reasons that I or another inspector may of missed something, the only way to find out is by talking to the other inspector before deciding he may of or may not missed something.

Originally Posted by Jim Abram

You will not make any friends doing that and you may make some enemies. Avoid it if you can.

Even if the other inspector is negligent and caused considerable harm to his clients ,they never think that they are wrong.

WOW!!

Originally Posted by Jim Abram

You will not make any friends doing that and you may make some enemies. Avoid it if you can.

Even if the other inspector is negligent and caused considerable harm to his clients ,they never think that they are wrong.

...........better listen to this guy- he's an expert on alienating people

Personally I have no reservation about doing these sort of inspections.

I don't contact the first inspector as a courtesy because I feel it would influence my independent objective inspection for the client.

It's not for the faint of heart if it should result in litigation against the original inspector, which I doubt.

Get all the facts from the seller as to what the issues were and why the deal went south before you committ if you can.

However if for any reson you are not comfortable with the whole idea, pass it up.

Some sellers will keep looking for a second opinion until they hear what they want to hear.

I do a handful of these each year. Hardly ever will I contact the other inspector. I really don't see the point. It might just be a difference of opinion on how to write up a deficiency.

If I think he made a huge mistake, and I know him, I would probably call him. Other than that, I'm not going to stick my nose into this.

Most of the time it has been that the seller did not want to believe what the other inspector said.

In this case of the OP's, the inspector called out major defects. So this is not about stuff he missed, although it could be he missed stuff. I would not comminicate with anyone else.

If you can do the job in a professional manner, fine, you are working for the seller, giving him a second opinion.

I have done them before and I feel it is no big deal. I never consult with the other inspector. People ask doctors for a second opinion all the time!

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Originally Posted by Jim Abram

You will not make any friends doing that and you may make some enemies. Avoid it if you can.

......

John, this should not be in your mind or a concern to you at all. Even though the seller is asking you to do this, you are not auditing the other inspector. You are a second opinion. Just approach this as any other home inspection and relay your findings. The only reason I would turn down the inspection request is if the seller wants you to comment directly on the other inspector's findings. That isn't what we do.

Ideally, the seller should be contacting professionals in the specific field of expertise for areas that were documented as defective and in need of repair. Therefore, if the other inspector said the roof is in need of replacement, a professional roofer should be called instead of another home inspector. If the service panel is stated as being a mess, the seller should contact an electrician. You get the idea.

Originally Posted by John McGuiness

I....
Essentially, the seller is looking for a “second opinion” regarding the findings from the buyer’s home inspector.
...

Thanks again,
John

Either the findings of the first inspection is right or wrong. The truth is the truth. If the report is wrong and you can support your opinion then offer it.

You can do an inspection and let the Seller make their own comparison and draw their own conclusions. Right or wrong.

The contract of sale has conditions, making it a Conditional Sale. The buyer typically need not specify why they decide to revoke the contract. Only that they exercise their right to withdraw from the contract.

If the Seller did not want to make the sale conditional then they should not have entered into the contract. The inspection if for the benefit of the Buyer not the Seller.

Don't worry about stepping on toes; just be honest, professional and correct.