Thread: Complaint from an Irate Seller

I had a recent inspection where the buyer, based on the considerations identified in my report, decided that the house, for the asking price, was more than they were interested in taking on. I am curious to know how you would handle a subsequent complaint from an irate seller who claimed on the phone 'they know people in government, and when they get mad, they get even'... among many other statements about the efforts that would be put into damaging my company's reputation and my name. I have had nothing but appreciation and positive remarks from everyone else involved including the buyer's (my client), the buyer's agent, the buyer's broker and the buyer's attorney. My concern is my business is young, and the last thing I need is someone making me look like a jerk for doing the job. Thoughts? Thanks guys and gals.

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Is your last name really 'Meek', or is that your disposition?

Just funnin' ya! No insult intended.

Just ignore the guy. Everybody and their kid sister supposedly 'knows somebody (that knows somebody, that knows somebody.... sometime)'. Starting to sound like Frank Sinatra.

In all probability everyone that actually knows this guy probably knows he's a PIA, and has no credibility whatsoever.

Unless the seller actually does something to try and smear you, there's nothing you can do. He may have just been PO'd and blowing off steam. I've had sellers make threats but nothing ever came of them.

Originally Posted by Nick Ostrowski

I've had sellers make threats but nothing ever came of them.

Same here.

Don't worry about it.... They are mad and just blowing off steam. Now if you can get it in writing or on tape, I might just turn it over to the local PD and file a complaint against them for threatening you with harm.

For the past 5 years or so I have been averaging about 2 sellers a year that are ticked at me because the buyer did not buy their home. I listen to them on the phone and at the end of the conversation(I do not say anything till the end) I just say "well bless your heart"........ most of the time they do not know what to say and hang up the phone..

I would not suggest this unless you have a slight southern accent like I do!

Originally Posted by Scott Patterson

I listen to them on the phone and at the end of the conversation(I do not say anything till the end) I just say "well bless your heart"........ most of the time they do not know what to say and hang up the phone..

I would not suggest this unless you have a slight southern accent like I do!

Scott, that's some funny chit.

Don't sweat it. If you have not been chewed out at least a few times you are not doing your job.

Don't sweat it.

I've been stopped in the middle of inspections by sellers and told to leave. A few times with veiled (thinly veiled) threats of harm, such as the seller who told me I had been there long enough and then pulled is coat back to reveal a handgun.

Being the prudent inspector that I am, I said ... 'You are right, I have been here too long already.' I picked up my stuff and left.

When I got out to my van I called the client, who called their agent, who called the seller, who then made arrangements for me to come back *at my schedule* and finish the inspection, and the two agents were there the next time to make sure nothing else happened with that seller.

I had one where two sheriff's deputies escort me onto the property and during most of the inspection to make sure the seller did not do anything.

You will get used to it.

Hell, I had an unhappy seller today because I pointed out that the recessed lighting fixture in the steam shower was not vapor tight.

There "could not be anything wrong with the shower". She had used a top flight contractor, the architect was there every day and had inspected the shower before it was tiled, yada, yada, yada - worse, I had "insulted" her by suggesting that her unit was less than perfect.

And - here's the punchline : the buyers were the sellers at another recent inspections, and had limited the time available for the inspection to less than I needs to deal with the "unexpected" coach house.

A few weeks later, the husband calls, me up: "After seeing your inspection report, I want *you* doing my inspection."

And today, it was: "Thank you for your thoroughness".

Same reason that when certain agents send me a client, I know it's a family member - never get any business from them otherwise!

If you are doing your job, and doing it right, you learn take this sort of stuff as a backhanded compliment.

clarification for some members North of the Dixon ,

Urban Dictionary: bless your heart
.

Originally Posted by Scott Patterson

Don't worry about it.... They are mad and just blowing off steam. Now if you can get it in writing or on tape, I might just turn it over to the local PD and file a complaint against them for threatening you with harm.

For the past 5 years or so I have been averaging about 2 sellers a year that are ticked at me because the buyer did not buy their home. I listen to them on the phone and at the end of the conversation(I do not say anything till the end) I just say "well bless your heart"........ most of the time they do not know what to say and hang up the phone..

I would not suggest this unless you have a slight southern accent like I do!

I don't care who you are, THAT's good !!

My cousin says that "bless your heart" means: wait right here while I go out to the truck and get my shotgun.

Originally Posted by JB Thompson

I don't care who you are, THAT's good !!

My cousin says that "bless your heart" means: wait right here while I go out to the truck and get my shotgun.

.
Cuz needs to keep his Gauge closer than that.
.

Thanks for the input guys. I knew the day would come that I would have to field a complaint or two but I never expected it to be as rough as this one. This was the third call I had from this person over the past 3 weeks to tell me how incompetent they thought I was, how I was only out to kill the sale of their beautiful and flawless home, and how much they, their friends and neighbors know about houses, bless their hearts. After the last call, that person now holds a special title on my phone so I know when they call. The inspection I did was for an out of state buyer and I so badly wanted to ask the seller if they were planning on buying out of state would they want the half baked inspection they expected I should have provided my client. I'm sure the answer would be, no way, but there is no reasoning when talking to someone like that. I don't regret a thing that was in the report, and like most of you said... The threats were likely idle. At least I didn't have to deal with someone flashing a piece at me... That really puts it in perspective! Thanks again for the input guys and all the best!

I was thinking about what Scott P said, "Well bless your heart".
Also Billy's post from the urban dictionary.
Anyhow
Some of you may remember that my Windows 7 computer has voice recognition. So With my "slight" southern accent I say into the mic,
"Well bless your heart". An what do you think my computer typed on the screen? "Blow it out your butt dumb ass".

I might have found a new tag line.

I had one not long ago. Seller refused to give back the buyers earnest money because 'your inspector is full of ____". Seller thought his house was perfect and everything I wrote was lies.
Great house but unfortunately filled with 40 years of DIY, thought he knew what he was doing, repairs and 'upgrades'.
After numerous phone calls, everyone agreed it would be a good idea for me to talk with the Seller's son. We talked for a 1/2 hour so, nice guy, doctor, rational. He knew mom and pops house wasn't perfect, he just needed to discuss the situation in a way that would allow him to figure out how to discuss it with his Dad and smooth even out. The Dad was in his mid, late 70's.
If you do good HI, you'll get Sellers made at you. You can't let it get to you. You have pictures, notes, documentation, the conditions are what they are. How much importance a Buyer or even Seller put on them is their own decision.

On a particular inspection, my client, the buyer, thought I hung the moon and because of the issues, the price and the unwillingness on the sellers to negotiate, he walked on the deal. The seller threatened to turn me into TREC for a bad inspection and things started going downhill.

They said their electrician certified the panel in perfect shape.
Their HVAC guy said there was no problem with the heater flue running through the AC plenum.
Their roofer said the roof was in great shape.

I happened to know the HVAC guy and was dumbfounded so I called him. Through a series of miscommunications between seller/realtor (go figure), he was told some other problem existed and wasn't given complete access to the home. I told him he'd better go back or his license was in jeopardy.

Consequently, they asked another electrician to come out and look at the panel. He stated that because he was now aware of this P.O.S., he was required to report it to the city. He told them if they hired him, it would be a $3000 fix. If they hired someone else, he would come inspect behind that person to ensure it was done properly and report that to the city.

Sufficed to say and armed with some knowledge, my client made another offer on the home with a condition that the seller drop any and all charges against "his inspector". Made my day!

Bruce

Depending on state, recording conversation must be agreed on. Which is why you always hear a recording of "this call may be recorded for quality assurance", if you do not want the call recorded you have to say so, else it may be. You were put on notice.

Start a quality assurance program.

Some people just can not handle the rejection of not making a sale and take it personally.

You will get used to it.

It can even be fun! For example, when the offending seller is also an agent. I just love it!

Yep, blow it off and get used to it.

I was kicked out of a house on Monday by the contractor doing the flip. I was hired by the buyer's mortgage company to do the inspection. I was there about 10 minutes when the contractor freaked out and told me to leave. I left, went directly to the mortgage company's office and picked up my check.

It has happened to all of us, although Jerry's stories beat anything that has happened to me. But my biggest one was a seller/Realtor who I overheard berating his dad for not properly hiding a defect from me and get the hell down to the basement and hide it before I got there. I then told the buyer what I had heard in front of this guy. Never have I had it hit the fan like that. Although I will never handle a similar situation again like that, it was easily the most entertaining inspection that I have ever done (and the loudest).

It has always been my experience that these things have a way of fading away. Even if they bad mouth you to everyone they know, chances are, people with that kind of disposition don't know many people who will think highly enough of them to believe anything they say. In my case, I was later told by several agents that, that Realtor is well known as a shady character in his small town.

Had a seller threaten to sue me because I found reported there was KITEC plumbing in the house. Here in vegas there are class action lawsuits on this plumbing. I told the seller that my report stated what I found in the home and that it's been known to have probelms. The seller said I would be sued for blowing the sale. I said go for it. That was the end of it. Got tons of refferals from the buyer. I love it when i'm doing my job.

Originally Posted by Ken Rowe

Yep, blow it off and get used to it.

I was kicked out of a house on Monday by the contractor doing the flip. I was hired by the buyer's mortgage company to do the inspection. I was there about 10 minutes when the contractor freaked out and told me to leave. I left, went directly to the mortgage company's office and picked up my check.

what was his excuse for freaking out?

Originally Posted by JB Thompson

what was his excuse for freaking out?

They had installed new vinyl window inserts with new exterior brickmold, and wrapped the brickmold with aluminum. In the process they covered the window weep holes. I called it out and he freaked.

Originally Posted by Scott Patterson

Don't worry about it.... They are mad and just blowing off steam. Now if you can get it in writing or on tape, I might just turn it over to the local PD and file a complaint against them for threatening you with harm.

For the past 5 years or so I have been averaging about 2 sellers a year that are ticked at me because the buyer did not buy their home. I listen to them on the phone and at the end of the conversation(I do not say anything till the end) I just say "well bless your heart"........ most of the time they do not know what to say and hang up the phone..

I would not suggest this unless you have a slight southern accent like I do!

Hilarious Scott !!!

This is why we have to be correct about what we report 100% of the time. "The truth will set us free". Who said that?

Originally Posted by Bob Kenney

I Everybody and their kid sister supposedly 'knows somebody (that knows somebody, that knows somebody.... sometime)'. Starting to sound like Frank Sinatra.

Bob, you sound like Dean Martin, and you look a bit like him, too.

My irate seller story is from about 5 years ago. I did an inspection of a 'low-end' condominium that was in poor condition, you know the kind where the report takes three times as long to write as the inspection took.

I delivered the report and got a call from the seller at about 9 PM at night. She was irate, ranted, and made no sense.

I called the agent in the AM to tell him about the call. He said he had been there at about 8PM to give her their repair counter-offer and she was downing rum'n'cokes at that time. We laughed when we pictured that she had a few more to work up to calling me.

Needless to say, my client used me for another home, made a better choice, and I've gotten several referrals from her.

Originally Posted by John Kogel

Bob, you sound like Dean Martin, and you look a bit like him, too.

Well, I'll consider that quite the compliment; my aspirations have always been along the lines of Jerry Lewis!

Originally Posted by Billy Stephens

clarification for some members North of the Dixon ,

Urban Dictionary: bless your heart
.

Thank you Billy. I assumed it to just be a diplomatic way of blowing off a jerk. Interestiing to see it is / can be a bit more specific that that. I am hoplessly "Northern" and this kind of knowledge is just not commonly shared in my hood.

Regarding the O.P. Home Inspectors and sellers are by circumstances lined up like opposing linemen in a pro football game. The relationship is anything but sweetness and light. Possibly something like telling your girl friend you don't love her any more and are movin on. Were you expecting hugs from the seller ?

Gary,

Short story.

Man with a getaway rural home is conveying how upon his last arrival discovered someone had removed a window A/C ( replaced when he left ) and taken some personal property.

Coffee, Paper Plates, 22 ammo, microwave , clothing ( his boxer underwear ) .

I asked what size were they. Oh 36,38. Well bless his hearth He Got Both Pair huh?
.

i actually wrote a letter rescinding my report at the request of a seller so they wouldn't have to show it to anyone else.
The buyer that hired me gave them a copy of the report to try and negotiate a lower price.
the deal ultimately fell apart.
They claimed I overstepped my protocol as an inspector because I also commented on stuff like the neighbor's barking dog.

Originally Posted by A.j. Levis

i actually wrote a letter rescinding my report at the request of a seller so they wouldn't have to show it to anyone else.
The buyer that hired me gave them a copy of the report to try and negotiate a lower price.
the deal ultimately fell apart.
They claimed I overstepped my protocol as an inspector because I also commented on stuff like the neighbor's barking dog.

Hmmmmm..........gotta say that I strongly disagree with your decision to rescind your report. That is dangerously close to saying that you don't know what you are doing. I hope you got some kind of reciprocal letter from the sellers saying that they are satisfied and no further action will be taken.
And, commenting on a barking dog is not appropriate. Do you mention the neighbors derelict car on the driveway? As home inspectors, we are looking at the condition of the property we are inspecting. A barking dog, partying neighbors, the number of foreclosures on the block, or the neighbor's Lamborghini have nothing to do with our inspection. That stuff is for real estate agents to address with their clients.

Originally Posted by A.j. Levis

i actually wrote a letter rescinding my report at the request of a seller so they wouldn't have to show it to anyone else.
The buyer that hired me gave them a copy of the report to try and negotiate a lower price.
the deal ultimately fell apart.
They claimed I overstepped my protocol as an inspector because I also commented on stuff like the neighbor's barking dog.

Wouldn't hat be under either air or noise pollution ?
or adverse exterior conditions.

Barking dog could be under general conditions at day of inspection; temp., raining, snow, stinking dog nest door or partying neighbors. It is an external observation....

Unless the neighbor's house is exhausting a downspout onto the inspected property, has a structure that looks like it could fall onto the inspected property, or has a condition that could have an actual affect on the inspected property, I don't care what's going on next door.

As for rescinding your report at the request of the seller, why? The seller didn't pay you and you didn't work for them. Did you feel there was enough erroneous info in the report to justify this?

If handled properly an irate vendor can become a future client. If a vendor disagrees with your findings and makes a fuss (only with your clients approval) it is best to calmly discuss your finding with the vendor. You'd be very supprised after these discussions how may irate vendors ask for you to complete thorough inspections on their selected homes. Steve Balshin

One of our guys inspected a vacant home (client/buyer walked after the inspection) and two weeks later the seller called to say we had 'manhandled' his water heater during the inspection and we were responsible for it subsequently leaking. He wanted us to pay for his new water heater. My hackles went up and I told him he was barking up the wrong tree. He posted a negative review on Yelp which I replied to on Yelp and referred to him as an extortionist. He threatened legal action unless I took down my Yelp reply. Something didn't smell right so I googled his name. Turns out he is a Chicago Police Dept. detective on long-term suspension for having entered a florist shop, impersonating a firefighter (i just retired after 31 years on the Chicago Fire Dept.) and sexually harassing the female florist shop clerk. I emailed him and told him that if he took his original negative review off of Yelp that I wouldn't embarrass him by posting the new story of his arrest. Our bogus negative review was gone in minutes and we never heard from him again. You can't make this sh*t up!!

Originally Posted by Dan Cullen

You can't make this sh*t up!!

That is a great story!
Back in February, many of us NAHI and ASHI members in the Denver area started getting emails from a PE claiming that we were violating Colorado law as HIs if we didn't have a PE license and to immediately cease and desist or he would report us to the AG.
Well, long story short, he was full of s**t.
I backtracked his emails and learned that he was an engineer student at a school in South Dakota. My guess is that some prof made this bogus claim about HIs and this dumb**s kid decided he would get rid of most HIs back in his home state.
Yup, you can't make this stuff up.

Complaints? No, but I've had quite a few past sellers call me to inspect the home they were now buying. Thorough, honest, complete inspections with no nonsense written reports based on facts. Means more than any time that could have been spent selling my soul to real estate agents.

My last POd seller,,,blamed me for losing 250,000 dollars on the sale..oooowwwwww...yes it bothered me, what bothered me more was she claimed to have talked with a Lennox dealer and they said she could get at least 30 years out of that furnace (19 yo).....i asked how much she paid for that info...nothing, the receptionist told me.....

Originally Posted by Stuart Brooks

Complaints? No, but I've had quite a few past sellers call me to inspect the home they were now buying. Thorough, honest, complete inspections with no nonsense written reports based on facts. Means more than any time that could have been spent selling my soul to real estate agents.

I think Nathan would disagree with you......

who is nathan?

Originally Posted by JB Thompson

who is nathan?

That is a question asked by many and has gone unanswered.

You may ask what is Nathan. Then the answer is a reseller.

On the topic of recording a call or conversation: Check your state Laws on this. In Utah, only one party (me) needs to know that it is being recorded. I have an app on my cell phone that with one "tap" it starts recording.

Someone making threats against you or your business is no joking matter.

I've had more problems with irate agents than I've had with the sellers themselves. The line I like to use on them is; "Hey, the house committed suicide. All I did was take notes!"

A.J., were your findings accurate? Did you lie on your report? Why in the world would you rescind your report? That is admitting that your inspection findings and report were not correct. Also, I certainly don't know the legal ramifications, but I doubt that your rescinding the report would absolve the seller from his responsibility to disclose everything that he knows is wrong with his house. I don't think you can un-ring that bell. Did you give your client his inspection fee back???

Originally Posted by Garry Sorrells

That is a question asked by many and has gone unanswered.

You may ask what is Nathan. Then the answer is a reseller.

?????

Originally Posted by JB Thompson

?????

I think nickis, offical mesage board pit bull, is talking to the nathan they are referring to in this post
CMI's on Agent Office Vendor Lists - Page 11 - InterNACHI Inspection Forum

I liked this line the best from the link you posted Dan.

Joe Farsetta said in part...

I also remain here to help protect InterNACHI and Nick Gromicko from ilk; whether they be in the form of a sleazy inspector or the sleazy salesperson.

I guess Joe should know what he's talking about; sleazy salesman, after all he was peddling his well inspection course up in these parts and telling his students they were all certified well inspectors upon completion of his multi hour course. The only problem was Joe forgot to do his research as well inspectors up here need a government licence, not some floozy selling bull in order to fleece the flock he says he's protecting.

Birds of a feather flock together, and so does the merde and contradictions.

Just ignore this guy. I fact i had an agent acuse me of placing mice in a house. top that.