Thread: New home buyer presentation

Have been asked to do a 30-minute presentation as part of a new home buyer class. I have lots of ideas, but was wondering if other inspectors had done any of these, and what topics do you try to cover? I could easily fill 4 hours with horror stories.

PS. I don't believe that I have access to any multi-media equipment, so even though I have some PowerPoint stuff I could put together, probably don't have equipment. My only portable is a small sub-notebook, too small for a classroom.

Suggestions?

I would find out what they want from you. 30 minutes is not a long time, and you might just cover the importance of getting an inspection, how to find a qualified inspector and maybe a few tips on what they can look for themselves when they are looking at houses.

I did a few of these years ago and never really got much out of them. They were usually put on by realtors that were trying to drive business their way, and not well attended. Your mileage may vary.

Pretty much what Jack covered and I would also make a handout of the top 5 things that they can look for as a buyer that will tell them they might want to keep looking for a home. I cant tell you how many homes I have looked at for first time buyers that as soon as I drove up or walked in the door I knew that the problems would be so great that the buyers will most likely walk.

Things like bad roofs, foundation issues, old electrical (K&T), mold, etc... Then for your talk go over each item on the list and give some examples of what to look for.

Folks love handouts at siminars like this. Be sure your contact information is on the handout. Tell them to give you a call if they are at a home and have any questions. A little free advice over the phone can go a long way. If you are lucky you might get a couple inspections over the next year out of such a group.

I have done a realtor-sponsored class before. This one is sponsored by a non-realtor, local community resource center that does a lot of stuff with grant money.

Over the years I have developed a number of topic handouts on a variety of subjects like mold, radon, siding issues, electrical safety, plumbing materials (PB), etc. Several of those are posted on my website, and/or links to other sites for more information on environmental issues, etc.

Guess I am tying to get a handle on the overall structure, what you would consider to be the top heavy hitters topics to cover, how to organize the many possible sub-topics. This particular group would mainly be people looking at rural properties, so I have a little more to cover such as wells, septic, and the 'urban' / wilderness border interface (wildfires).

Originally Posted by Terry Beck

I have done a realtor-sponsored class before. This one is sponsored by a non-realtor, local community resource center that does a lot of stuff with grant money.

Over the years I have developed a number of topic handouts on a variety of subjects like mold, radon, siding issues, electrical safety, plumbing materials (PB), etc. Several of those are posted on my website, and/or links to other sites for more information on environmental issues, etc.

Guess I am tying to get a handle on the overall structure, what you would consider to be the top heavy hitters topics to cover, how to organize the many possible sub-topics. This particular group would mainly be people looking at rural properties, so I have a little more to cover such as wells, septic, and the 'urban' / wilderness border interface (wildfires).

Terry, I would stay with what you are comfortable with. I have seen speakers stumble and fumble when they veer off into topics that they really knew little about and they end-up looking unprofessional or give wrong information.

Stay with topics that a first time homebuyer would be concerned with and that are simple to make folks understand.. ABS pipe is one I would stay away from. Why? Well, not all of the ABS pipe we see is bad or needs to be replaced so it might confuse some and could be difficult to make some understand.

Same goes for PB water lines, not all PB is bad and it also depends on the chemicals in the water that make the PB go bad and the fittings that were used. Stay with topics that will not confuse folks, keep it simple. Remember you will have only 30 minutes. I would spend 20 min. on the presentation and then 10 min of Q&A.

I used to do these almost monthly out here. I would get 1-2 inspections out of each class. I put together a power point presentation that covered what to expect, what not to expect and how to choose an inspector; then a slide show of creative uses for tape (duct and electrical).

Half hour? I'd wing it. Introduce yourself, tell them what a home inspection is and is not and open the floor for questions.

Originally Posted by Ken Rowe

Half hour? I'd wing it. Introduce yourself, tell them what a home inspection is and is not and open the floor for questions.

What Ken said, plus...
You can address these on your own initiative or wait to be asked, but make sure you have good answers ready for questions like these:
What's the difference between a home inspection and an appraisal? Should I use the inspector my agent recommends? Why or why not? Who are you (Mr. Inspector) working for, and who are those other people (agent, City inspector, appraiser, etc.) working for? Doesn't the seller have to fix everything you find? Will you report your findings to my mortgage company? What constitutes good credentials for an inspector? My brother-in-law does drywall work in new houses and knows everything, so should't I use him? Do I really have to be there for the inspection? Why can't I bring my 2-year old triplets? Isn't a 3-day inspection contingency more than enough? Why does a condo need an inspection? New houses don't need inspections, do they? Doesn't a State license automatically mean the inspector is competent and ethical? You'll make sure that house is up to code, right?

These may seem like dumb questions to those of us in the industry, but to people who don't deal with real estate every day, these matters are pretty mysterious. I feel than clearing up these kinds of issues is more important than a list of horror stories. Yes, you need a couple of those to make it interesting, but keep them short.

And leave some time to address environmental issues, like lead, mold and radon, because those questions are going to come up. If you don't have the credentials to answer them, be sure your handout has some links they can follow to get solid (science-based, not the arm-waving panic of cable DIY shows) advice.

If you are there as the guest of a non-profit (as opposed to a RE company or bank), you have to keep the self-promotion low-key. You are there to explain the importance of buyer protection through home inspection. Yes, they have to know who you are and how to reach you, but if you come off sounding like a commercial you will turn off the audience and may not get invited back.

After a couple of these, you can start to relax and have fun. Just like during the inspection, you never know when something you say may save somebody from an expensive or dangerous mistake. It's a good feeling.